Sting Bee Stɪŋ Painful Wound Scorpion Catch Noun

• the sting of a bee
• the scorpion has a sting in its tail.
• a wasp or bee sting is painful but not necessarily serious.
• the sting of salt in a wound

sting

1. the sharp pointed part of an insect or creature that can go into the skin leaving a small, painful and sometimes poisonous wound
• the sting of a bee
• The scorpion has a sting in its tail.
2. a wound that is made when an insect, a creature or a plant stings you
• A wasp or bee sting is painful but not necessarily serious.
3. any sharp pain in your body or mind
• the sting of salt in a wound
• There was a sting of sarcasm in his voice.
• She felt the sting of tears in her eyes.
• He smiled at her, trying to take the sting out of his words (= trying to make the situation less painful or difficult).
4. a clever secret plan by the police to catch criminals
• a sting operation to catch heroin dealers in Detroit
5. a clever plan by criminals to cheat people out of a lot of money
6. an unpleasant feature that comes at the end of a story, an event, etc. and spoils it

Extra Examples

• She was arrested in an undercover sting operation.
• She’s allergic to bee stings.
• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.
• You can get a nasty sting from a jellyfish.
• the hot sting of tears
• The FBI conducted a sting operation to catch heroin dealers in Detroit.

Word Origin

• Old English sting (noun), stingan (verb), of Germanic origin.