Definition of: sting

(sting) v. stung (Obs. stang), stung, sting·ing v.t.
1. To pierce or prick painfully, as with a sharp, poisonous organ: The bee stung me.
2. To cause to suffer sharp, smarting pain from or as from a sting: The blow stung his cheek.
3. To cause to suffer mentally; pain: His heart was stung with remorse.
4. To stimulate or rouse as if with a sting; goad; spur.
5. Slang To impose upon; get the better of; also, to overcharge.
—v.i.
6. To have or use a sting, as a bee.
7. To suffer or cause a sharp, smarting pain.
8. To suffer or cause mental distress; pain. See synonyms under INCENSE¹, PIQUE¹, SPUR.
—noun
1. Zool. A sharp offensive or defensive organ, as of a bee or wasp, capable of inflicting a painful and especially a poisonous wound.
2. The act of stinging; the wound made by a sting, or the pain caused by it.
3. Any sharp, smarting sensation; stinging quality: the sting of remorse.
4. A keen stimulus; spur; goad.
5. Bot. One of the sharp-pointed hairs of a nettle; a stinging hair.
6. The point of an epigram.
7. Colloq. A confidence game; swindle. [OE stingan]
—sting′ing·ly adverb