- (v.t.) Anything that gives acute pain, bodily or mental; as, the stings of remorse; the stings of reproach.
- (v.t.) A sharp-pointed hollow hair seated on a gland which secrets an acrid fluid, as in nettles. The points of these hairs usually break off in the wound, and the acrid fluid is pressed into it.
- (v.t.) To pierce or wound with a sting; as, bees will sting an animal that irritates them; the nettles stung his hands.
- (v.t.) To goad; to incite, as by taunts or reproaches.
- (v.t.) The thrust of a sting into the flesh; the act of stinging; a wound inflicted by stinging.
- (v.t.) To pain acutely; as, the conscience is stung with remorse; to bite.
- (v.t.) A goad; incitement.
- (v.t.) The point of an epigram or other sarcastic saying.
- (v.t.) Any sharp organ of offense and defense, especially when connected with a poison gland, and adapted to inflict a wound by piercing; as the caudal sting of a scorpion. The sting of a bee or wasp is a modified ovipositor. The caudal sting or spine, of a sting ray is a modified dorsal fin ray. The term is sometimes applied to the fang of a serpent. See Illust. of Scorpion.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). sting. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/sting/definitions/2066564 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "sting" http://smartdefine.org/sting/definitions/2066564 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, sting, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/sting/definitions/2066564>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "sting" 28 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/sting/definitions/2066564> |