sticky
part of speech
adjective (stickier, stickiest)
meaning for a pupil
1) Sticky means covered with something like glue, honey or syrup that sticks to things. tree →
2) Sticky can mean able to stick to surfaces, like sticky tape or a sticky note. tree →
3) Sticky weather is hot and damp, making you feel sweaty. tree →
4) A sticky situation is difficult or awkward. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons on materials, sticky substances (glue, tape, sap, honey) hold things together. In hygiene, wash sticky hands before touching books or computers. In stories, a "sticky end" means a nasty fate, and a sticky situation is a problem to get out of. Phrases: sticky tape, sticky note, sticky fingers, a sticky situation, come to a sticky end, sticky weather.
examples
- My hands are sticky from the honey. tree →
- Hold the picture with sticky tape. tree →
- Write the reminder on a sticky note. tree →
- It was a hot, sticky summer night. tree →
- The floor was sticky where the juice spilled. tree →
- We were in a sticky situation when the bus left without us. tree →
- Spider webs are sticky to catch insects. tree →
- They could not pull their feet out of the sticky mass. tree →
note
Comparatives: stickier, stickiest (y to i). Noun: stickiness; verb: stick (stick, stuck). "Sticky fingers" can also mean someone who steals.
In the corpora
- An echidna has no teeth and catches ants and termites with a long sticky tongue after breaking into their nests with strong claws.
- The nose warms and moistens air, and its hairs and sticky mucus catch dust and germs before they reach the lungs.
- Reptiles are full of such tricks, from dropping tails to sticky toes that walk up glass.
- "Sticky fingers" means a habit of stealing.
- Ants come into kitchens for food, so you clean up crumbs and sticky spills.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «sticky» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.