sting
/ˈstɪŋ/ noun B2- A bump left on the skin after having been stung. · Look at this nasty hornet sting: it's turned blue!
- A puncture made by an insect or arachnid in an attack, usually including the injection of venom. · She died from a bee sting.
- A pointed portion of an insect or arachnid used for attack.
- A sharp, localized pain primarily on the epidermis. · That plant will give a little sting if you touch it.
- A sharp-pointed hollow hair seated on a gland which secretes an acrid fluid, as in nettles.
- The thrust of a sting into the flesh; the act of stinging; a wound inflicted by stinging.
- A police operation in which the police pretend to engage in criminal activity in order to catch a criminal. · The criminal gang was caught after a successful sting.
- A short percussive phrase played by a drummer to accent the punchline in a comedy show.
Plural stings
From the library
“Take out my straw and scatter it over the little girl and the dog and the Lion,” he said to the Woodman, “and the bees cannot sting them.” This the Woodman did, and as Dorothy lay close beside the Lion and held Toto in her arms, the straw covered them entirely.
The bees came and found no one but the Woodman to sting, so they flew at him and broke off all their stings against the tin, without hurting the Woodman at all.
And as bees cannot live when their stings are broken that was the end of the black bees, and they lay scattered thick about the Woodman, like little heaps of fine coal.
See if I do not prick your neck with my sting.” The Draught-Mule replied, “I do not heed your threats; I only care for him who sits above you, and who quickens my pace with his whip, or holds me back with the reins.
Other matches
Learn sting in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.