stick up 1 of 2

verb

Definition of stick upnext
as in to rob

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stickup

2 of 2

noun

as in holdup

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stick up
Verb
When Jane reemerges the next morning, her hair is completely out of whack with a tuft sticking up and the whole mane completely bedraggled. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 5 June 2026 One can stick up for female athletes and defend female sports without singling out and effectively mass cyberbullying a high school athlete. — Sal Rodriguez, Oc Register, 31 May 2026
Noun
Man gets 5 years in Cedar Lake robbery A Gary man got 5 years in a plea deal earlier this month for a Cedar Lake stickup. — Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2025 The stickup comes amid a nearly 23% drop in robberies in the Bronx’s 44th Precinct, which saw 135 robberies as of April 27 compared to 175 in the same time period last year, according to NYPD statistics. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 4 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for stick up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stick up
  1. rob
  2. holdup
  3. rip off
  4. burglary
  5. hold up
  6. mugging
  7. plunder
  8. break-in
Verb
  • Online videos of past GTA versions show players gunning down police, robbing a liquor store and getting lap dances from topless strippers.
    — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Around the same time, legacy media began its slow decline, robbing magazines and TV shows of much of their PR powers.
    — Brian Raftery, Vanity Fair, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of rob
Noun
  • Service learned the holdup was due to the site in question also being considered a homeless encampment.
    — Lisa Rozner, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Lee was convicted of fatally shooting Jimmy Ellis, 53, and Elaine Thompson, 44, during a pawn shop holdup in 1998 in Orrville, about 60 miles west of Montgomery.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of holdup
Verb
  • For more advice on how to avoid being ripped off, listen to this episode of NPR's Life Kit.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Achane, ripped off a career-best 53-yard run on third-and-5 to set up Riley Patterson’s 27-yard field goal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of rip off
Noun
  • Lanier was charged with Class 2 felonies for the two Oak Lawn burglaries, according to the Cook County circuit court filings.
    — Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • On July 23, 1973, tragedy rippled through the Mexican American community when 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez was shot and killed by a Dallas police officer who tried to coerce him into confessing to a burglary by playing Russian roulette.
    — Alexis Guerrero, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of burglary
Verb
  • And its offense finally held up its end of the bargain, with Waymond Jordan punching in an eight-yard touchdown.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Brazil estimates that its deposits hold up to 21 million tons, second only to China.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of hold up
Noun
  • Trump’s Arch will commemorate his overnight mugging of Venezuela and his colossal misadventures in Iran.
    — Letters to the Editor, Hartford Courant, 24 Sep. 2026
  • It’s been 14 years since that mugging, and I haven’t been robbed since, despite traveling to more than 60 countries and moving to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
    — Joel Balsam, Travel + Leisure, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of mugging
Verb
  • In the sixties, artists such as Roy Lichtenstein and Peter Saul had plundered lowbrow visual culture for elemental materials.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • In fact, plundering England’s lower leagues is a rich source of unique goals, from Ballard’s spectacular effort to this cheeky one from Crewe Alexandra striker Josh March in their 1-0 League Two win over Northampton on Saturday.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of plunder
Noun
  • For many companies, security only becomes a priority after something goes wrong—a break-in, a lawsuit or an overnight incident.
    — Sami Nomair, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Nothing had been stolen, but someone made a shoddy effort to mimic a break-in.
    — Maya Singer, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of break-in

Browse Nearby Words

stick (to or with)
stick up
stickup
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Cite this Entry

“Stick up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stick%20up. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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