🇬🇧 Sting meaning: English Vocabulary Flash Card

To sting means to cause a quick, sharp pain, often with a little prick. Bees and wasps can sting you with their stingers, and some plants, like nettles, can sting your skin if you touch them. It feels like a sudden, ouchy poke! Sometimes, mean words can also feel like they sting your feelings.

My baby brother stung my pride by beating me at peekaboo.

When I touched the nettle, it stung like it had something personal against me.

The jellyfish stung me and stole my dignity at the beach.

His comment about my dancing stung harder than the time I stepped on Lego.

Grandma’s perfume stung my nose so bad, I sneezed into orbit.

At the park a boy brushed a flower and a bee chose his thumb to sting. The sting made him cry. "Don't let it sting," his friend warned and waved the bee away. The bee tried to sting again; the boy blew and the sting eased, so he hugged his hand and smiled.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

Expanding your English vocabulary is one of the best ways to improve your pronunciation, spelling, and confidence in English. Watch the video above to memorize the word, understand its meaning, and see example sentences in action. Discover related words to grow your vocabulary naturally. Add words to your playlist for stress-free, effective learning—anytime, anywhere! Watch, learn, repeat.