Stiff

Stiff is a versatile English word with several related meanings centered on rigidity or inflexibility. In everyday use, it describes something rigid or resistant to bending, such as a stiff wire or a stiff door hinge, or a person who is stiff in movement or manner.

In medicine and physiology, stiffness refers to muscular or joint rigidity. It is a common symptom in conditions such as arthritis or after prolonged immobility, and can also describe increased muscle tone, such as spasticity in neurological disorders. Acute muscle stiffness can follow intense exercise.

As a noun, stiff can mean a dead body, especially in informal or slang contexts, as in the phrase the stiff. It also appears in phrases like stiff wind or stiff competition, meaning severe, strong, or challenging.

As a verb, to stiff someone means to refuse to pay owed money, such as failing to pay a bill or tip. It can also mean to beat or swindle someone, though this usage is more colloquial.

Other uses include the process of stiffening, where something becomes rigid, and contexts in textiles or food where processing or additives make material or tissue stiff. Stiff contrasts with flexible and pliant; its meaning depends on context, ranging from physical rigidity to social or financial inflexibility.