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Sting   /stɪŋ/   Listen
noun
Sting  n.  
1.
(Zool.) 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.
2.
(Bot.) 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.
3.
Anything that gives acute pain, bodily or mental; as, the stings of remorse; the stings of reproach. "The sting of death is sin."
4.
The thrust of a sting into the flesh; the act of stinging; a wound inflicted by stinging. "The lurking serpent's mortal sting."
5.
A goad; incitement.
6.
The point of an epigram or other sarcastic saying.
Sting moth (Zool.), an Australian moth (Doratifera vulnerans) whose larva is armed, at each end of the body, with four tubercles bearing powerful stinging organs.
Sting ray. (Zool.) See under 6th Ray.
Sting winkle (Zool.), a spinose marine univalve shell of the genus Murex, as the European species (Murex erinaceus).


verb
Sting  v. t.  (past stang; past part. stung; pres. part. stinging)  
1.
To pierce or wound with a sting; as, bees will sting an animal that irritates them; the nettles stung his hands.
2.
To pain acutely; as, the conscience is stung with remorse; to bite. "Slander stings the brave."
3.
To goad; to incite, as by taunts or reproaches.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Sting" Quotes from Famous Books



... to bathe a while in divine eye-beams of flattering approval, then gave him a little sting to bring him to life. "You are pretty old, not to be married," she remarked. "I hope you won't find some woman to put an end to your high intentions, but men generally do. Men fall in love, and when they finally pull themselves out, they've ...
— Fran • John Breckenridge Ellis
... dead. A rattlesnake had given her its fatal sting, and the outcast, dreading all men and the coroner not the least, had, silently and alone, buried ...
— Bonaventure - A Prose Pastoral of Acadian Louisiana • George Washington Cable
... standing bareheaded now at the edge of the cliff, watching the flight of the bird. It was delightful to see the faint pink come back to her cheeks with the sting of the salt wind. Nevertheless, I had an idea in my mind that it was not wholly for her health's sake that Lady Angela walked abroad ...
— The Betrayal • E. Phillips Oppenheim
... of bacon, too, and lampreys, spring pickled tunny- fish, mackerel, and sting-ray; large fish, ...
— The Captiva and The Mostellaria • Plautus
... thought it was the Sequoia stage," he said to her. He turned a smoldering glance upon George Sea Otter. "George," he declared ominously, but with a sly wink that drew the sting from his words, "if you're anxious to hold down your job the next time a lady speaks to you and asks you a simple question, you answer yes or no and refrain from sarcastic remarks. Don't let your enthusiasm for this car run away with you." He faced the girl again. "Was it your intention to go ...
— The Valley of the Giants • Peter B. Kyne


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