Meaning & use
stick-on
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Having a sticky back so it can be pressed onto a surface and fixed there.
Grammar: Comes before the noun only: a stick-on badge, stick-on labels.
Patterns
- stick-on + noun
The children decorated their books with stick-on stars.
He wore a stick-on name tag at the conference.
These stick-on hooks hold up to two kilos.
nouncountableinformal
A small decorative piece with a sticky back that you press onto something.
Grammar: Countable and informal; usually plural when talking about a set.
Patterns
- a pack of stick-ons
- put a stick-on on something
She covered her laptop with colorful stick-ons.
The teacher handed out stick-ons as a reward.
Word forms
| plural | stick-ons |
|---|
Common combinations
- stick-on label
- Print the address on a stick-on label.
- stick-on badge
- Every visitor gets a stick-on badge at the door.
- stick-on hook
- I hung the towel on a stick-on hook.
- stick-on tattoo
- The kids begged for stick-on tattoos at the fair.
- stick-on name tag
- Write your name on the stick-on name tag.
Synonyms and how they differ
- adhesive
- More technical and usually describes the glue itself or industrial tape, not small fun items.
- self-adhesive
- A close match, but more formal and common in product descriptions than in everyday speech.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: stick-on or stick on?
stick-on vs stick on
Written as two words, this is a verb phrase meaning to keep doing something or to attach something: stick on the label.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'stick-on' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Stick-on' is an adjective that goes before a noun, as in 'a stick-on label'. Option 1 wrongly uses it after 'is', option 2 uses it as a verb, and option 4 is a confused form of the verb phrase 'stick on'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stick-on”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.