stuck 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of stucknext
as in jammed
firmly positioned in place and difficult to dislodge the car was hopelessly stuck in the mud

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

stuck

2 of 2

verb

past tense of stick
1
as in adhered
to hold to something firmly as if by adhesion those magnets are strong enough to stick to the refrigerator without any problems

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in put
to arrange something in a certain spot or position you can stick that box in the corner until I figure out where to put everything

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in stabbed
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object could hardly feel the needle when the nurse stuck my arm with it

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in plucked
to rob by the use of trickery or threats she got stuck by an unscrupulous seller while using the online auction site

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stuck
Adjective
By then, the inside of your microwave should be warm and moist, and the once-stuck food should be soft and easy to remove. — Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 29 Aug. 2026 Dismayingly, for those of us who are perpetually stuck on item three of our to-do list, all that barely begins to describe how Dolly Parton spent her days. — Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026 Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources crews found a missing man safe but stuck after his boat became mired in Northern Michigan's Tawas Lake. — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026 While Brentford look to be edging closer to the finished article under Keith Andrews, Roberto De Zerbi is still stuck on his introduction. — Elias Burke, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026 General Daily Insight for August 23, 2026 A practical fix can help something tender feel less stuck. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026 About 30 riders were stranded upside down when the spinning pendulum-style ride became stuck in a vertical position on June 14, 2024. — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Only 17% of finance teams report using AI inside their core workflows, and 45% remain stuck in limited pilot mode, running small experiments that never scale into how the function operates day to day. — Anders Liu-Lindberg, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026 The play set the girl became stuck in had been bought through Facebook, Sanabia said earlier this month. — Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2026
Verb
After being stuck open in the rain, fans cheered when the roof closed. — Rebecca Tauber, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026 Kohl’s decided in 2016 to close one of its big box stores in Roswell, but no one knew the building’s fate would be stuck in purgatory for the next decade. — Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 31 Aug. 2026 Perhaps Huck, who did not respond to a request for comment, came to this realization a little late and is looking to avoid getting stuck in a money-pit situation. — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 31 Aug. 2026 Many of the workers had taken shelter in the tunnels but are stuck, waiting to be rescued, according to officials. — Victoria Milko, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026 Tyler Christensen, who recorded a video of the bears stuck inside the tank, described the animals. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026 On one street, a truck was stuck in the mud with its bed raised in the air. — Arkansas Online, 30 Aug. 2026 Investors are wondering if the rally could mark a turning point for bitcoin, whose price has been stuck in a prolonged slump since October, ahead of a seasonally bullish period for the coin. — Tanaya MacHeel, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026 For the past few years, Florida’s housing market has been stuck in a strange kind of standoff. — Justin Onorato, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stuck
  1. jammed
  2. adhered
  3. put
  4. stabbed
  5. plucked
  6. tight
  7. clung
  8. situated
Adjective
  • Residents described idling in traffic as roads became jammed with evacuees.
    — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Even when turned off, internal components like microswitches or thermal relays can fail or become jammed by breadcrumbs, potentially causing the heating element to turn on unexpectedly.
    — Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of jammed
Verb
  • Earlier versions adhered more closely to the facts of what happened to Pam.
    — Josh Rivera, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026
  • But a new fastest time from UAE’s Florian Vermeersch on June 2 of this year — 23km at an average speed of 75kmh — suggests that not everyone has adhered.
    — Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 29 June 2026
Definition of adhered
Verb
  • Costco is an awkward exhibit for putting shareholder-value maximization in the driver’s seat.
    — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Espada is paid to put it in favorable positions, even when few seem to exist.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of put
Verb
  • Two people were stabbed, one fatally, near Times Square on Monday afternoon, with responding authorities shooting and killing the female suspect, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
    — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 1 Sep. 2026
  • One of the two people who was stabbed also died, while the other victim was hospitalized in stable condition.
    — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of stabbed
Verb
  • Woodard went undrafted out of UNLV in 2025, and the Dolphins plucked him off the Texans’ practice squad in mid-December.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
  • If the Panthers didn’t want him, in other words, he’d probably be plucked off the waiver wire by someone else.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of plucked
Adjective
  • Dow stood with three tattooed and shirtless jumpers, weaving white paracord through hooks in the canvas and cinching it tight.
    — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Given the tight timeframe before the election, Sher is seeking both temporary relief and an interim injunction in the petition to ensure eligible citizens are not disenfranchised while bureaucratic procedures are reviewed.
    — Natasha Mozgovaya, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of tight
Verb
  • Ryder clung onto Nathaniel as waves repeatedly crashed over them.
    — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
  • One man desperately clung to a light pole in Cambridge City as muddy, brown water swirled around him, before he was eventually rescued.
    — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of clung
Verb
  • Border police operate a checkpoint at the Himalayan port, situated more than 1800 meters above sea level.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The property is situated on a lot spanning 5,400 square feet.
    — Bay Area Home Report, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of situated

Phrases Containing stuck

Browse Nearby Words

stubs
stuck
stuck around
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stuck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stuck. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All