stiff

stiff¹ S3 [stıf] adj comparative stiffer superlative stiffest

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1¦(body)¦

2¦(material/substance)¦

3¦(mixture)¦

4¦(difficult)¦

5¦(door/drawer etc)¦

6¦(unfriendly)¦

7¦(price)¦

8 stiff wind/breeze

9 stiff drink/whisky etc

10 stiff upper lip

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[: Old English; Origin: stif]

1.) ¦(BODY)¦

if someone or a part of their body is stiff, their muscles hurt and it is difficult for them to move

stiff from doing sth

▪ Her legs were stiff from kneeling.

stiff with

▪ Her fingers were stiff with cold.

stiff neck/back/joint etc

▪ Alastair woke with a stiff neck.

▪ I never felt stiff after training until I was in my thirties.

▪ The next morning I was as stiff as a board (=very stiff) .

2.) ¦(MATERIAL/SUBSTANCE)¦

firm, hard, or difficult to bend

▪ a shirt with a stiff collar

3.) ¦(MIXTURE)¦

a stiff mixture is thick and almost solid, so that it is not easy to mix

▪ Beat the egg whites until stiff.

▪ a stiff dough

4.) ¦(DIFFICULT)¦

difficult, strict, or severe

stiff sentence/penalty/fine

▪ calls for stiffer penalties for rapists

stiff competition/opposition

▪ Graduates face stiff competition in getting jobs.

▪ The development plans have met with stiff opposition.

5.) ¦(DOOR/DRAWER ETC)¦

BrE difficult to move, turn, or open

▪ Pull hard - that drawer's very stiff.

6.) ¦(UNFRIENDLY)¦

if someone's behaviour is stiff, they behave in a very formal or unfriendly way

▪ Their goodbyes were stiff and formal .

▪ Parsons gave a stiff performance in the main role.

7.) ¦(PRICE)¦

a stiff price etc is high, especially higher than the price etc of similar things

▪ a stiff tax on cigarettes

8.) stiff wind/breeze

a fairly strong wind etc

9.) stiff drink/whisky etc

a very strong alcoholic drink

10.) stiff upper lip

the ability to stay calm and not show your feelings in a difficult or upsetting situation

▪ Men were taught to keep a stiff upper lip .

>stiffly adv

>stiffness n [U]

stiff ²

stiff² adv

1.) bored/scared/worried stiff informal

extremely bored, frightened, or worried

▪ As a child I was scared stiff of going down to the cellar.

2.) frozen stiff

a) extremely cold

▪ Goodness, your hands are frozen stiff!

b) cloth that is is frozen stiff is hard because the water in it has frozen

stiff ³

stiff³ n informal

1.) the body of a dead person

2.) working stiff

AmE an ordinary person who works to earn enough money to live

3.) someone who you think is old-fashioned and too formal

▪ His business tactics outraged the stiffs of the UK establishment.

stiff ⁴

stiff⁴ v informal

1.) [T] AmE

to cheat someone by not paying them, especially by not leaving a ↑tip in a restaurant

▪ I can't believe that couple stiffed me!

2.) [I]

if a new product, film, show etc stiffs, it does not sell well or fails completely

= ↑bomb

▪ They had a hit in the 1990s, but their subsequent releases stiffed.