stiff

stiff1 [ stıf ] adjective **

▸ 1 with pain in muscles

▸ 2 firm & difficult to bend

▸ 3 not moving easily

▸ 4 mixture: very thick

▸ 5 formal/controlled

▸ 6 more severe than usual

▸ 7 containing much alcohol

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) if you are stiff or a part of your body is stiff, you feel pain in your muscles and cannot move easily:

Her fingers were getting stiff.

feel stiff: My leg muscles always feel stiff after a long bike ride.

stiff neck/back etc.: She was suffering from a stiff neck.

2. ) firm and difficult to bend:

a stiff piece of card

a small stiff brush

stiff as a board (=extremely stiff): The wet towel I had left hanging outside was frozen and stiff as a board.

3. ) if something that should move easily is stiff, it does not move or operate as easily as you expect:

The drawer was very stiff, so I pulled on it.

The hinges of the box were stiff from lack of use.

4. ) a mixture that is stiff is very thick and keeps its shape when you stop mixing it:

stiff paste/dough: Beat in the sugar to make a stiff paste.

beat/whisk something until stiff: Beat the egg whites until stiff.

5. ) formal and controlled in a way that is not friendly or relaxed:

Her tone was a little stiff, I thought.

stiff with: His face was stiff with disapproval.

stiff and awkward: He looked stiff and awkward in his new suit.

6. ) more severe or difficult than usual:

stiff fine/penalty/sentence: Those caught breaking the new law face some pretty stiff fines.

stiff competition: Greene is up against some stiff competition in this race.

stiff opposition/resistance: The government forces met with stiff resistance in the north.

7. ) a stiff drink contains a lot of alcohol

stiff wind/breeze

a stiff wind or BREEZE is fairly strong

╾ stiff|ness noun uncount

stiff

stiff 2 [ stıf ] adverb

bored/scared/worried stiff

extremely bored/frightened/worried

stiff

stiff 3 [ stıf ] noun count VERY INFORMAL

the body of a dead person. This is an offensive way to talk about someone who is dead.

=> WORKING STIFF

stiff

stiff 4 [ stıf ] verb transitive AMERICAN INFORMAL

to not pay someone money that you owe them, especially by not leaving any money as a TIP in a restaurant