Stiff

Pronunciation

• IPA: /stɪf/
• Rhymes: -ɪf

Origin

Old English stīf, from Proto-Germanic *stīfaz (compare Dutch stijf, German steif), from Proto-Indo-European *stīpos (compare Latin stipare, from which English stevedore).

Full definition of stiff

Adjective

1. Of an object, rigid, hard to bend, inflexible.
2. (figuratively) Of policies and rules and their application and enforcement, inflexible.
3. Of a person, formal in behavior, unrelaxed.
4. (colloquial) Harsh, severe.He was eventually caught, and given a stiff fine.
5. Of muscles, or parts of the body, painful, as a result of excessive, or unaccustomed exercise.My legs are stiff after climbing that hill yesterday.
6. potent.A stiff drink; a stiff dose; a stiff breeze.
7. dead, deceased.
8. Of a penis, erect.

Derived terms

• stiffy

Noun

1. An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a working stiff or lucky stiff.A Working Stiff's Manifesto: A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember was published in 2003.
2. A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle.She convinced the stiff to go to her hotel room, where her henchman was waiting to rob him.
3. (slang) A cadaver, a dead person.
4. (US) A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.

Verb

1. To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.Realizing he had forgotten his wallet, he stiffed the taxi driver when the cab stopped for a red light.
• 1946, William Foote Whyte, Industry and Society, page 129We asked one girl to explain how she felt when she was "stiffed." She said, You think of all the work you've done and how you've tried to please them….
• 1992, Stephen Birmingham, Shades of Fortune, page 451You see, poor Nonie really was stiffed by Adolph in his will. He really stiffed her, Rose, and I really wanted to right that wrong.
• 2007, Mary Higgins Clark, I Heard That Song Before, page 154Then he stiffed the waiter with a cheap tip.

Anagrams

• tiffs