sting
verb /stɪŋ/
/stɪŋ/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they sting | /stɪŋ/ /stɪŋ/ |
| he / she / it stings | /stɪŋz/ /stɪŋz/ |
| past simple stung | /stʌŋ/ /stʌŋ/ |
| past participle stung | /stʌŋ/ /stʌŋ/ |
| -ing form stinging | /ˈstɪŋɪŋ/ /ˈstɪŋɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] sting (somebody/something) (of an insect or plant) to touch your skin or make a very small hole in it so that you feel a sharp pain
- I was stung on the arm by a wasp.
- Be careful of the nettles—they sting!
- [intransitive, transitive] to feel, or to make somebody feel, a sharp pain in a part of their body
- I put some antiseptic on the cut and it stung for a moment.
- My eyes were stinging from the smoke.
- sting something Tears stung her eyes.
Synonyms hurthurt- ache
- burn
- sting
- tingle
- itch
- throb
- hurt (of part of your body) to feel painful; (of an action) to cause pain:
- My feet hurt.
- Ouch! That hurt!
- ache to feel a continuous pain that is not severe:
- I’m aching all over.
- burn (of part of your body) to feel very hot and painful:
- Our eyes were burning from the chemicals in the air.
- sting to make somebody feel a sharp burning pain or uncomfortable feeling in part of their body; (of part of your body) to feel this pain:
- My eyes were stinging from the smoke.
- tingle (of part of your body) to feel as if a lot of small sharp points are pushing into the skin there:
- The cold air made her face tingle.
- itch to have an uncomfortable feeling on your skin that makes you want to scratch; to make your skin feel like this:
- I itch all over.
- Does the rash itch?
- throb (of part of your body) to feel pain as a series of regular beats:
- His head throbbed painfully.
- your eyes hurt/ache/burn/sting/itch
- your skin hurts/burns/stings/tingles/itches
- your flesh hurts/burns/stings/tingles
- your head hurts/aches/throbs
- your stomach hurts/aches
- to really hurt/ache/burn/sting/tingle/itch/throb
- to hurt/ache/sting/itch badly/a lot
- It hurts/stings/tingles/itches.
- [transitive] to make somebody feel angry or upset
- sting somebody He was stung by their criticism.
- They launched a stinging attack on the government.
- sting somebody to/into something Their cruel remarks stung her into action.
- sting somebody into doing something He was stung into answering in his defence.
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsc2- He was stung into making a cheap retort.
- Taunts from the fans stung him into his best performance of the season.
- [transitive, often passive] sting somebody (for something) (informal) to charge somebody more money than they expected; to charge somebody who did not expect to pay
- I got stung for a £100 meal.
- How much did they sting you for?
- sting somebody for something (British English, informal) to borrow money from somebody
- Can I sting you for a couple of pounds?
Word OriginOld English sting (noun), stingan (verb), of Germanic origin.
