Macmillan Dictionary

Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

stick out

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
phrasal verb
Word Forms
Close
present tense
I/you/we/theystick out
he/she/itsticks out
present participlesticking out
past tensestuck out
past participlestuck out
Other entries for this word
  1. 1
    [intransitive] to continue further than the end of a surface or the main part of an object
    stick out of:

    A magazine was sticking out of his coat pocket.

    stick out from:

    A pair of feet stuck out from under the blanket.

    stick out through:

    His bony elbows stuck out through holes in his jacket.

    someone's ears/teeth stick out:

    The photo showed Edward with very short hair and his ears sticking out.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of stick out
  2. 2
    [transitive] to push or stretch something forwards or away from you, especially a part of your body

    He stuck his chest out proudly as he stepped onto the stage.

    Ben stuck out his tongue at Pearson (=as an insult).

    stick something out of something:

    She stuck her arm out of the car window and waved.

    stick something out from something:

    Alice stuck her head out from under the duvet.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of stick out
  3. 3
    [intransitive] to be easy to notice or remember because of being unusual or different

    One face in particular stuck out from the crowd.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of stick out
    1. a.
      stick out a mile informal to be very obvious or noticeable

      It sticks out a mile that she's in love with him.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of stick out
  4. 4
    [transitive] very informal to continue doing something difficult or unpleasant to the end
    stick it out:

    It was a tough course, but we stuck it out.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of stick out
  5. 5
    stick your neck out informal to take a risk by saying or doing something that could be wrong or could make other people react angrily

    I'll stick my neck out and say we'll have it done by Friday.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of stick out

This is the British English definition of stick out. View American English definition of stick out.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 
See also main entry: stick

charticle

a news article that consists of a chart … and only has a small amount of text

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day

electron

a part of an atom that moves around the nucleus (=centre) and has a negative electrical charge

Open Dictionary

never event

an event that should never occur in a healthcare setting …

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog