Sticks

How to spell sticks

6 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce sticks

What does sticks mean?

1. nounThin lengths of wood, or objects shaped like them.
2. verbAdheres firmly to a surface, or becomes fixed and unable to move.

Sticks in a sentence

• noun

  The children gathered dry sticks to build the campfire.

• verb

  The label sticks better when the bottle is dry.

• noun

  He bought two sticks of celery for the soup.

• verb

  The drawer always sticks in damp weather.

Where does sticks come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word descends from the Old English sticca, which named a small rod, twig, or peg, and from the related verb stician, meaning 'to pierce, prick, or remain fixed in place'. Both go back to a Germanic root tied to the idea of something pointed enough to be pushed into a surface, which is why the noun (a thin piece of wood) and the verb (to adhere or to thrust) share one spelling. Over the centuries the sense of piercing softened into the everyday meaning of clinging or refusing to come loose, as paste sticks paper together. The same ancient root also gave English 'stitch', 'stake', and 'stigma', all carrying that flavour of piercing or fixing. The plural and the present-tense verb simply add -s, so 'sticks' reads cleanly in either role with no spelling surprises.

How the word is built

• stick (Old English sticca: a rod or twig)
• -s (plural / third-person verb suffix)