sticky
/ˈstɪki/adjective, noun, verb
sticky is spelled S-T-I-C-K-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sticky means “Tending to stick; able to adhere via the drying of a viscous substance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sticky?
| Letters | 6: S-T-I-C-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.3 times per million words; the 9,594th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sticky?
Sticky appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sticky?
- /ˈstɪki/
Sticky has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sticky.ogg, En-au-sticky.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sticky
- stickier comparative
- stickiest superlative
- stickies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- stickying participle, present
- stickied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sticky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Tending to stick; able to adhere via the drying of a viscous substance.
Is this tape sticky enough to stay on that surface?
- 2
Difficult, awkward.
This is a sticky situation. We could be in this for weeks if we're not careful.
- 3
Of a death: unpleasant, grisly.
- 4
Of weather: hot and windless and with high humidity, so that people feel sticky from sweating.
- 5
Mawkish, sentimental.
- 6
Tending to stay the same; resistant to change.
a sticky price; sticky wages
- 7
informalPersistent.
We should make the printing direction sticky so the user doesn't have to keep setting it.
- 8
Appearing on all virtual desktops.
noun
- 1
A sticky note, such as a post-it note.
Her desk is covered with yellow stickies.
- 2
A discussion thread fixed at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.
- 3
A small adhesive particle found in wastepaper.
- 4
AustraliacolloquialA sweet dessert wine.
- 5
slangSticky-icky; marijuana, especially the sticky, resin-covered buds.
- 6
obsoleteslangWax.
verb
- 1
To fix (a discussion thread) at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.
noun
- 1
slangA member of the Official Irish Republican Army.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sticky in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | collant, gluant, poisseux , délicat |
| German | stickig, klebrig , heikel |
| Portuguese | grudento, pegajoso , fixar |
| Spanish | pegajoso, pegadizo, pegachento , escabroso , bochornoso , recado adherible |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sticky come from?
From stick + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).