to stick up
6
8.4
- phrasal verb
- /stɪk ʌp/
- NSFW
- During the hold-up, the thief demanded, "Stick 'em up, and nobody gets hurt!"
- stick up stores
- stick up a bank
Examples
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Stick 'em up, or I'll blow your brains out.
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The robber shouted, "Stick up, everyone!" as he entered the bank.
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-Just, uh, stick 'em up.
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"All right, boys, stick 'em up.
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Come on, stick them up.
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I said, "Stick 'em up or I'll shoot you."
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When you rob a joint, you stick up the cashier.
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Well, we hear you're sticking up places.
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Stick 'em up!
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The masked man ordered the clerk, "Stick up your hands and give me all the cash!"
Synonyms
852
1.2
To take property illegally from other people using force or threats
87
5.8
To attack someone in public and steal their things
18
5.8
To rob someone using a weapon or threats
Antonyms
How Violent
Surface Forms
Morphology
stick + up
The meaning 'to rob' is not transparently built from the literal senses of 'stick' (a piece of wood or to pierce) and 'up' (direction/position). 'Stick up' as a phrasal verb is idiomatic — its sense of threatening/robbing is a language-specific extension that a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not reliably infer.
Etymology
The verb stick up may come from the image of a robber pointing a stick up at a person to force them to hand over money. So, to stick up a shop or person means to threaten with a weapon and 'rob' them.