stiff

B1 · Intermediate Medicine

adj. feeling pain or difficulty when moving your body, usually after exercise.

adj. experiencing physical discomfort or reduced range of motion due to lactic acid buildup or minor muscle strain.

“My legs are really stiff after that long hike yesterday.”

“He woke up with a stiff neck, likely the result of sleeping in an awkward position during the overnight flight.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate

adj. acting in a very formal way that is not relaxed or friendly.

adj. characterised by a lack of ease or spontaneity in social interaction; excessively formal.

日本語:堅い※

“The conversation was stiff and awkward because they didn't know each other.”

“The host gave a stiff greeting, making it clear that the uninvited guests were not entirely welcome at the private gala.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate

adj. very difficult, strong, or severe.

adj. harsh, severe, or requiring great effort; often used to describe competition or penalties.

“The company faces stiff competition from smaller, faster rivals.”

“The judge handed down a stiff sentence to deter others from committing similar financial crimes.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Cooking

adj. thick and difficult to stir.

adj. having a high viscosity or dense consistency; in cooking, refers to mixtures that hold their shape.

“Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.”

“The mixture should be stiff enough to hold a spoon upright before you fold in the remaining dry ingredients.”

C1 · Advanced Informal · American English

v. to fail to pay someone what you owe them, or to not leave a tip.

v. to cheat someone by failing to pay a bill or by providing an inadequate gratuity.

“The group left the restaurant and stiffed the waiter on a hundred-dollar bill.”

“It is considered extremely poor etiquette to stiff a server, regardless of the quality of the service provided.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Slang · Informal

n. a slang word for a dead person.

n. a cadaver or deceased person.

“The detectives found a stiff in the alleyway behind the theater.”

“The medical examiner joked about the number of stiffs in the morgue, a dark coping mechanism common in the profession.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Slang · American English

n. an ordinary person who works a boring job.

n. a person of no particular distinction, often used in the phrase 'working stiff'.

“He’s just a lucky stiff who won the lottery.”

“The politician tried to appeal to the average working stiff by visiting factories and diners during the campaign trail.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Informal

adv. completely or extremely; used with words like 'bored' or 'scared'.

adv. to an extreme degree; used as an intensifier with specific adjectives like 'bored', 'scared', or 'frozen'.

“I was bored stiff during the three-hour lecture on tax law.”

“The hikers were scared stiff when they realized they were being followed by a mountain lion in the fading light.”