| Front | stiff |
|---|---|
| Back | stiff adjective, adverb, noun, verb BrE /stɪf/ NAmE /stɪf/ adjective word origin thesaurus example bank (stiff•er, stiff•est) difficult to bend/move 1 firm and difficult to bend or move stiff cardboard a stiff brush The windows were stiff and she couldn't get them open. muscles 2 when a person is stiff, their muscles hurt when they move them I'm really stiff after that bike ride yesterday. I've got a stiff neck. mixture 3 thick and almost solid; difficult to stir Whisk the egg whites until stiff. difficult/severe 4 more difficult or severe than usual It was a stiff climb to the top of the hill. The company faces stiff competition from its rivals. The new proposals have met with stiff opposition. There are stiff fines for breaking the rules. a stiff breeze/wind (= one that blows strongly) not friendly 5 (of a person or their behaviour) not friendly or relaxed The speech he made to welcome them was stiff and formal. price 6 (informal) costing a lot or too much There's a stiff $30 entrance fee to the exhibition. alcoholic drink 7 [only before noun] strong; containing a lot of alcohol a stiff whisky ‘What you need is a stiff drink,’ he told her. stiff•ly /BrE stɪfli; NAmE stɪfli/ adverb ‘Thank you,’ she replied stiffly. The key turned stiffly in the lock. She sat down stiffly on a chair by the wall, aware that they were looking at her. stiff•ness /BrE stɪfnəs; NAmE stɪfnəs/ noun [uncountable] pain and stiffness in her legs (keep) a stiff upper ˈlip to keep calm and hide your feelings when you are in pain or in a difficult situation He was taught to keep a stiff upper lip and never to cry in public. Their reaction contrasts sharply with the stiff upper lip of the English. adverb word origin 1 (informal) very much; to an extreme degree be bored/scared/worried stiff 2 frozen ~ (of wet material) very cold and hard because the water has become ice The clothes on the washing line were frozen stiff. I came home from the game frozen stiff (= very cold). noun word origin (slang) the body of a dead person verb verb forms word origin example bank ~ sb (NAmE, informal) to cheat sb or not pay them what you owe them, especially by not leaving any money as a tip |
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