# sting

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈstɪŋ/ · frequency rank #9,674

## Definitions
1. A bump left on the skin after having been stung.
2. A puncture made by an insect or arachnid in an attack, usually including the injection of venom.
3. A pointed portion of an insect or arachnid used for attack.
4. A sharp, localized pain primarily on the epidermis.
5. A sharp-pointed hollow hair seated on a gland which secretes an acrid fluid, as in nettles.
6. The thrust of a sting into the flesh; the act of stinging; a wound inflicted by stinging.
7. A police operation in which the police pretend to engage in criminal activity in order to catch a criminal.
8. A short percussive phrase played by a drummer to accent the punchline in a comedy show.
9. A brief sequence of music used in films, TV, and video games as a form of scenic punctuation or to identify the broadcasting station.
10. A support for a wind tunnel model which extends parallel to the air flow.
11. The harmful or painful part of something.
12. A goad; incitement.
13. The concluding point of an epigram or other sarcastic saying.

## Etymology
From Middle English styng, sting, stynge, stenge, from Old English sting, stincg (“a sting, stab, thrust made with a pointed instrument; the wound made by a stab or sting”), from Proto-Germanic *stingaz; possibly also from Old English stynġ, from Proto-Germanic *stungiz.

## Easily confused with
- **stir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stir)
- **sung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-sung)
- **stun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stun)
- **swig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-swig)
- **stone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stone)
- **swing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-swing)
- **stunt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stunt)
- **stint** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stint)
- **suing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-suing)
- **swung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-swung)
- **stink** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stink)
- **swine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-swine)
- **stony** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stony)
- **stung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stung)
- **stipe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stipe)
- **strong** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-strong)
- **string** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-string)
- **swings** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-swings)
- **strung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-strung)
- **stinks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sting-vs-stinks)

## Common misspellings (8)
`sitng`, `ssting`, `stign`, `stingg`, `stinng`, `stnig`, `stting`, `tsing`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sting