What does "sick" mean?

1. (unwell) not feeling well or having a disease. 2. (nauseated) feeling like you are going to vomit. 3. (tired of something) feeling very annoyed or bored because something has happened too many times. 4. (disturbing or cruel) describing something that is very unpleasant, cruel, or shows a strange mind. 5. (excellent) a slang word for something that is very cool, impressive, or great. 6. (poor soil or crops) describing land that cannot grow healthy plants anymore. 7. (vomit) the food that comes up from your stomach when you are ill. 8. (to vomit) to bring up food from your stomach.

How do you use "sick"?

Commonly used both before a noun and after a linking verb. Often used in the phrase 'feel sick'. Almost always followed by the preposition 'of'. Often used as the phrasal verb 'sick up'.

sick — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "I have been sick since three days."?

No — say "I have been sick for three days.". Use 'for' to show the duration of time you have been unwell.

Word

01unwell

A1 · Beginner

adj. not feeling well or having a disease.

adj. suffering from a physical illness or disease; in American English, this is the standard term for 'ill'.

“He stayed home from school because he felt sick and had a fever.”

“The doctor advised the sick patient to remain in bed until the symptoms of the infection subsided completely.”

Usage

Commonly used both before a noun and after a linking verb.

Pitfall

I have been sick since three days.

I have been sick for three days.

Use 'for' to show the duration of time you have been unwell.

Teaching tip

Note that 'sick' is more common in American English, while British English often prefers 'ill' for long-term conditions.

Synonyms

ill unwell ailing

Antonyms

healthy well

02nauseated

A2 · Elementary

adj. feeling like you are going to vomit.

adj. experiencing nausea or the urge to vomit.

“The bumpy car ride made the children feel sick.”

“She felt incredibly sick after the boat hit the rougher waters of the open channel.”

Usage

Often used in the phrase 'feel sick'.

Teaching tip

In British English, 'being sick' specifically means the act of vomiting, whereas in American English it usually means generally feeling unwell.

Synonyms

nauseous queasy

03tired of something

B1 · Intermediate

adj. feeling very annoyed or bored because something has happened too many times.

adj. thoroughly weary of or disgusted by something due to repetition or excess.

“I am sick of eating the same sandwich every single day for lunch.”

“The residents grew sick of the constant construction noise that disrupted their sleep for six consecutive months.”

Usage

Almost always followed by the preposition 'of'.

Synonyms

tired fed up weary

Antonyms

enthusiastic

04disturbing or cruel

B2 · Upper Intermediate Informal

adj. describing something that is very unpleasant, cruel, or shows a strange mind.

adj. mentally unhealthy or morally disgusting; often used to describe dark humor or cruel behavior.

“That was a sick joke to tell at a funeral.”

“The detective was disturbed by the suspect's sick sense of satisfaction when describing the crime.”

Synonyms

disturbed morbid twisted

Antonyms

wholesome

05excellent

C1 · Advanced Slang

adj. a slang word for something that is very cool, impressive, or great.

adj. an ironic slang term used to express strong approval or admiration.

“Did you see his new car? It looks absolutely sick.”

“The skateboarder pulled off a sick trick that left the entire crowd cheering in disbelief.”

Synonyms

cool awesome amazing

Antonyms

lame boring

06poor soil or crops

C2 · Proficiency Science Technical

adj. describing land that cannot grow healthy plants anymore.

adj. referring to soil or crops that are failing to thrive or produce an adequate harvest.

“The farmer realized the soil was sick and needed more nutrients.”

“Decades of monoculture had left the land sick, requiring extensive crop rotation to restore the nitrogen levels.”

Synonyms

unproductive barren

Antonyms

fertile

07vomit

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun British English · Informal

n. the food that comes up from your stomach when you are ill.

n. matter vomited from the stomach.

“There was some sick on the floor after the baby got ill.”

“The janitor had to clean up the sick in the hallway after the student fell ill during the assembly.”

Synonyms

vomit

08to vomit

B2 · Upper Intermediate British English · Informal

v. to bring up food from your stomach.

v. to eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth.

“The dog sicked up his dinner on the rug.”

“After eating the spoiled meat, the cat sicked up all over the kitchen tiles.”

Usage

Often used as the phrasal verb 'sick up'.

Synonyms

vomitthrow up

From Middle English sik, sike, seek, seke, seok, from Old English sēoc (“sick, ill”), from Proto-West Germanic seuk, from Proto-Germanic seukaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sewg- (“to be troubled or grieved”). See also West Frisian siik, Dutch ziek, German siech, Norwegian Bokmål syk, Norwegian Nynorsk sjuk, Danish syg; also Middle Irish socht (“silence, depression”), Old Armenian հիւծանիմ (hiwcanim, “I am weakening”). The "very good, excellent" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "in poor health". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and wicked.

Variant of sic, itself an alteration of seek.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

NOUN

ADJECTIVE

sick(A1)