verb
stick
To push a pointed object into something.
She sticks a pin into the fabric to hold the fold.
Etymology
Old English stician means to pierce or stab. This sense preserves the insertion of a pointed object into another material.
More examples
- He stuck the shovel into the soft soil.
- A thorn had stuck into the sole of his shoe.
- They are sticking markers into the ground.
Forms
stick · sticks · stuck · sticking
Similar words
- insert
- Means put something inside, without necessarily piercing the material.
- pierce
- Pierce emphasizes breaking through a surface rather than putting an object into an opening.