Meaning & use
stick off
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Meanings
verbintransitiveinformal
To be clearly noticeable or different from everything around it, often in an odd or awkward way.
Grammar: No object; the thing that stands out is the subject, and it is often followed by 'from' or 'against'.
Patterns
- stick off from something
- stick off against something
Her bright red coat really stuck off against the gray crowd at the station.
The new tower sticks off from the older buildings around it.
One typo in the middle of the page stuck off and ruined the whole design.
verbintransitiveinformalBritish
To keep away from someone or something, or to refuse to join in with others.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by 'from' to name the person or group being avoided.
Patterns
- stick off from someone
- stick off from something
He stuck off from the group and walked home alone.
The quiet boy always stuck off from the other kids at break time.
Word forms
| third person singular | sticks off |
|---|---|
| past tense | stuck off |
| past participle | stuck off |
| -ing form | sticking off |
Common combinations
- stick off from the crowd
- With that hairstyle, she sticks off from the crowd instantly.
- stick off against a background
- The pale letters stick off against the dark wall.
- really stick off
- The mistake really stuck off once the teacher read it aloud.
- stick off like a sore thumb
- In his suit he stuck off like a sore thumb at the beach party.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stand out
- Far more common and neutral; use it when something is simply easy to notice, without the odd or awkward feeling that 'stick off' often carries.
- stick out
- Very close in meaning and much more frequent; 'stick out' can also mean to push something out, which 'stick off' cannot.
- clash
- Use this when colors or styles look wrong together, rather than when one thing is simply noticeable.
Opposites
Word family
- stick out phrasal verb
- to be very easy to notice, or to push something outward
- sticking adjective
- describing something that is fixed in place or hard to remove
Commonly confused: stick off or stick off? stick off or stand off?
stick off vs stick off
Learners sometimes mix this up with 'stick up', which means to point upward or to rob someone with a gun, and with 'stick on', which means to attach something.
stick off vs stand off
'Stand off' means to stay at a distance, often in a tense situation, while 'stick off' is about being noticeable or keeping away socially.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'stick off' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Only the first sentence matches the meaning 'be clearly noticeable'. The second and fourth need 'stick on' for attaching something, and the third needs 'stick up' for robbing a place.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stick off”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.