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Added 9 October 2026

stiff

/stɪf/ adjective

In Latin: rigidus, rigēns Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about stiff at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

noun

An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education.
working stiff
A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle.
She convinced the stiff to go to her hotel room, where her henchman was waiting to rob him.
A cadaver; a dead person.

verb

To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.
He stiffed me on the tip.
To cheat someone.
To tip ungenerously.

adverb

Of the wind, with great force; strongly.
Very thoroughly.

Origin

From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English stīf, from Proto-West Germanic *stīf, from Proto-Germanic *stīfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steypós. See also West Frisian stiif, Dutch stijf, Norwegian Bokmål stiv, German steif; also Latin stīpes, stīpō, from which English stevedore. The expected Modern English form would be /staɪf/; /stɪf/ is probably originally from compounds such as stiffly, where the vowel was shortened before a consonant cluster.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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