stiff

I UK [stɪf] / US adjective **

1) if you are stiff, or if 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) if something that should move easily is stiff, it does not move or operate as easily as you expect

The drawer was rather stiff, so I pulled at it.

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

3) firm and difficult to bend

a stiff piece of card

a small stiff brush

stiff as a board (= extremely stiff):

The washing on the line was frozen and stiff as a board.

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

stiff paste/dough:

Beat in the icing sugar to make a stiff paste.

beat/whisk something until stiff:

Whisk 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 competition:

Jarvis is up against some stiff competition in this race.

stiff opposition/resistance:

The government forces met with stiff resistance in the north.

stiff fine/penalty/sentence:

Those caught breaking the new law face stiff fines.

7) a stiff drink contains a lot of alcohol

•

stiff wind/breeze — a stiff wind or breeze is fairly strong

Derived word:
stiffness
noun uncountable
II UK [stɪf] / US adverb

bored/scared/worried stiff — extremely bored/frightened/worried

III UK [stɪf] / US noun [countable]
Word forms "stiff":
singular stiff plural stiffs very informal

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

IV UK [stɪf] / US verb [transitive]
Word forms "stiff":
present tense I/you/we/they stiff he/she/it stiffs present participle stiffing past tense stiffed past participle stiffed American informal

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