stinging
stinging — verb
1. When an insect, spider, or plant uses a sharp pointed part of its body to push p
When an insect, spider, or plant uses a sharp pointed part of its body to push poison into the skin of a person or animal, causing a painful spot or swelling.
A wasp stung Wei on the arm while he was picking apples in the garden.
sting + someone + on + body part
The children ran inside crying because a bee had stung the youngest girl on her foot.
If you step on a sea urchin, its sharp spines will sting your skin badly.
The gardener touched a stinging nettle by mistake and felt a sharp burning sensation on his palm.
文法句型
sting + someone/something
sting (+ adverb/preposition)
用法筆記
Subject can be the insect (a bee stung me) or the plant part (the nettle stung me). The passive form (be stung by) is very common in spoken English.
常見錯誤
2. To produce a sudden burning feeling on the skin or in a part of the body, especi
To produce a sudden burning feeling on the skin or in a part of the body, especially when a substance touches a cut or when wind or cold air hits exposed skin.
The soap got into the small cut on Clara's finger and began to sting terribly.
sting triggered by substance entering a wound
Bitter cold air stung Sophie's cheeks as she walked to the bus stop on a freezing morning.
When the nurse applied the disinfectant, the wound started to sting for almost a minute.
A strong wind stung Diego's eyes and made it hard to see the road ahead.
文法句型
something stings
sting + someone
用法筆記
Frequently used with body parts (eyes, cheeks, skin, wound) or weather conditions (wind, cold, rain). The subject of the sentence is typically the cause (the wind, the soap) rather than the person feeling the pain.
常見錯誤
3. To make someone feel deeply hurt, offended, or disappointed by what is said or d
To make someone feel deeply hurt, offended, or disappointed by what is said or done, especially when the criticism is harsh or unexpected.
Diego was stung by his manager's comment that his report was not good enough for the client.
passive: be stung by + criticism
It stung Fatima when her best friend forgot to invite her to the wedding party.
impersonal: it stings + someone + when + clause
The coach's sharp words stung the players into working much harder before the final match.
Ananya felt stung by the rumour that someone had spread about her at the office.
文法句型
be stung by + someone's words/behaviour
it stings + someone + to-infinitive/that-clause
用法筆記
Frequently passive (be stung / feel stung). The subject causing the hurt is typically words, criticism, rejection, or someone's action rather than the person speaking. Distinguish from verb/1: here, no physical contact is involved.
常見錯誤
4. To charge someone far too much money for a product or service, often in a way th
To charge someone far too much money for a product or service, often in a way that feels dishonest or unfair.
The garage stung Kiran three hundred pounds just to fix a simple brake problem.
sting + someone + amount of money
Tourists often get stung by street sellers who charge triple the normal price for souvenirs.
passive: get stung by + overcharging person
That restaurant stung us for the bottle of wine — it cost four times the supermarket price.
The homeowners realised they had been stung by the builder when they found cheap materials that did not match the bill.
- overcharge
neutral and formal; does not carry the same tone of surprise or dishonesty
- rip off
equally informal but more strongly suggests deception
文法句型
sting + someone + (for) + amount/money
get stung + for + amount
用法筆記
Always informal. Common in the passive get stung (everyday speech) or be stung (slightly more narrative). The amount charged typically follows directly or after the preposition for.
常見錯誤
stinging — noun
1. A sudden sharp burning feeling on the skin or in part of the body, often caused
A sudden sharp burning feeling on the skin or in part of the body, often caused by a cut, a chemical substance, or cold weather.
Mei-Lin felt a sharp sting on her wrist when a splash of hot oil jumped out of the frying pan.
feel + a sting + on + body part
The sting of the cold wind made Sophie's eyes water as she hurried across the school yard.
After the bee incident, a lingering sting stayed on Yuki's ankle for almost two hours.
The sting of the salt water on Noah's sunburn was so painful that he cried out loud.
用法筆記
Often followed by 'of' + the cause (the sting of the wind, the sting of the disinfectant). Can also stand alone (I felt a sting). This is the physical-sensation sense; for emotional pain see noun/2.
2. A feeling of emotional hurt, disappointment, or embarrassment caused by someone'
A feeling of emotional hurt, disappointment, or embarrassment caused by someone's unkind words, rejection, or unfair treatment.
The sting of being left out of the team lasted much longer than Thomas had expected it would.
the sting of + -ing phrase (cause)
Clara still felt the sting of the rejection letter from the university she had dreamed of attending since childhood.
There was a real sting in her mother's quiet words of disappointment after the exam results arrived.
The sting of the critic's review stayed with the young novelist for many weeks after it was published.
用法筆記
Often used with a possessive or 'of' phrase that names the cause (the sting of defeat, her words had a sting). Frequently appears in phrases like 'the sting of rejection' or the idiom 'take the sting out of something'.
常見錯誤
3. The sharp pointed part of an insect, spider, or marine creature that pushes pois
The sharp pointed part of an insect, spider, or marine creature that pushes poison into the skin of another living thing when the animal feels threatened.
The bee left its sting embedded in the gardener's skin and then flew away without it.
possessive: [creature]'s sting
A wasp can use its sting many times because the barbs on it are much smaller than a bee's are.
The scorpion's sting is located at the very tip of its long curved tail.
Yuki examined the honeybee's sting under a microscope and saw the tiny barbs that hook into the skin.
- stinger
the same meaning; more common in informal conversation
用法筆記
Refers to the body part itself, not the action or the pain. In everyday speech 'stinger' is more common than 'sting' for this meaning. Compare noun/1 (the sensation) and verb/1 (the action).
4. A carefully planned scheme in which criminals deceive people by pretending to be
A carefully planned scheme in which criminals deceive people by pretending to be honest, in order to steal money or valuable items.
The art sting involved selling fake paintings to wealthy collectors through a fake auction house.
[type] + sting = compound noun
Police discovered the sting when several elderly victims reported losing their life savings to the investment company.
The gang's sting relied on fake documents that looked identical to official bank papers.
An undercover agent joined the sting to gather solid evidence against the smuggling ring operating at the port.
用法筆記
Distinguish from noun/5: this sense describes a scheme run BY criminals, not one run BY police. In news stories 'sting' alone can be ambiguous; look for context clues such as 'gang' or 'scam'.
5. A secret operation in which law enforcement officers pretend to be criminals in
A secret operation in which law enforcement officers pretend to be criminals in order to catch real criminals while they are committing a crime.
The police set up a sting at the warehouse to arrest the drug dealers during the exchange of money.
set up a sting = common collocation
An undercover officer ran the sting, posing as a buyer interested in stolen jewellery from the museum.
The FBI's sting operation caught three suspects who were trying to sell secret military documents.
Diego was shocked to learn that the man offering him cheap electronics was actually part of a police sting.
- trap
more general; does not specifically describe an undercover police operation
- decoy operation
more technical; less common in everyday language
用法筆記
Almost always followed by 'operation' or used as part of the compound noun 'sting operation'. In news headlines 'sting' alone is common, but in full text 'sting operation' is preferred for clarity.
6. A very short animated sequence, typically lasting only a few seconds, used to id
A very short animated sequence, typically lasting only a few seconds, used to identify a television channel, brand, or programme before or after a commercial break.
The channel's new sting shows a blue bird flying across a city skyline in under three seconds.
broadcast/cable channel + sting
Animation students each created a five-second sting for the local TV station's design competition.
The network redesigned its sting to match the modern look of its evening news programmes.
Santi's prize-winning sting for the film festival used simple drawings of a cinema curtain opening.
- ident
the standard term in UK broadcasting; 'sting' is more common in US and animation contexts
用法筆記
Technical term from broadcasting and animation. Not used in general conversation. The closest everyday equivalent is 'ident' (short for 'station identification').