to stick to
- phrasal verb
- /stɪk tu/
- In such a chaotic world, you must stick to the path you have chosen.
- stick to the plan
- stick to the facts
- stick to the terms
I'm not saying stick to your goals no matter what.
- I'm not saying stick to your goals no matter what.
- There is this vibe of stick to your guns, don't sell out.
- But for now, let's stick to how this pattern looks.
- It's making people either want to stick to a decision or change it.
- No, I'm impressed you stuck true to yourself.
- It's one thing to stick to your guns creatively.
- Throw out the junk food in the cupboard and stick to eating real foods.
- And, you know, you have to stick to it and keep trying.
- What he meant by that was you stick to your word, right?
- So I kind of tend to stick to those two places.
Examples
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Stick to the game plan.
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All right, so just stick to the plan.
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And, you know, you have to stick to it and keep trying.
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So, you gotta stick to your guns now.
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Let's just stick to what we're good at.
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Also, have an agenda for every meeting, and stick to your start and end times.
Academic text (1997) -
You leave the solutions to me, Rupert, and stick to what you do best.
Fiction book (1996) -
Throw out the junk food in the cupboard and stick to eating real foods.
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If you want to win, you have to stick to the fundamental, clarion principle.
Academic text (1999) -
It's important to stick to your budget when planning a trip.
Synonyms
To do what you promised
To act according to rules, advice, or beliefs
Keep an activity, quality, or schedule going over time
To stay in the same job or role
Keep doing or supporting something even when it is difficult
Continue to follow and support a rule, belief, or person
To follow rules or instructions
To keep doing something or keep holding a belief despite difficulty
To stay loyal to a promise, plan or belief
To keep doing something even when it is difficult or people disagree
To stay firmly attached to something or keep believing strongly in an idea
To stay very close to someone or something, often for support
Antonyms
How Committed
Surface Forms
Morphology
stick + to
The meaning 'to adhere or attach firmly' is directly and compositionally derived from 'stick' (to stick/adhere) plus the preposition 'to', forming the expected verb + preposition construction. This is a basic, cross-linguistically common composition so an average B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Stick to gives the image of a note that sticks to a wall and does not move, held there by glue or tape. So, stick to a plan or rule means 'to keep it and not change it'.