sty

1
[ stahy ]
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noun,plural sties.
  1. a pen or enclosure for swine; pigpen.

  2. any filthy place or abode.

  1. a place of bestial debauchery.

verb (used with object),stied, sty·ing.
  1. to keep or lodge in or as if in a sty.

verb (used without object),stied, sty·ing.
  1. to live in or as if in a sty.

Origin of sty

1
First recorded before 1000; (for the noun) Middle English; Old English stī- (as in stī-fearh “sty-pig”), probably identical to stig- in stigweard steward; cognate with Old Norse stī, Dutch stijg, German Steige

Words Nearby sty

Other definitions for sty (2 of 2)

sty2

or stye

[ stahy ]

noun,plural sties.Ophthalmology.
  1. a circumscribed abscess caused by bacterial infection of the glands on the edge of the eyelid; hordeolum.

Origin of sty

2
First recorded in 1610–20; by false division of Middle English styanye, from styan (Old English stīgend “sty,” literally, “rising”) + ye eye), misread as sty on eye

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sty in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sty

sty

/ (staɪ) /


nounplural sties
  1. a pen in which pigs are housed and fed

  2. any filthy or corrupt place

verbsties, stying or stied
  1. to enclose or be enclosed in a sty

Origin of sty

1
Old English stig; related to Old Norse stīa pen, fold, Old High German stīga, Middle Dutch stije

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012