sticky

Sticky describes a material or surface that adheres to another due to tackiness or viscoelastic properties. Substances described as sticky include natural adhesives like gum and honey, as well as synthetic glues and tapes. Sticky materials resist separation and may gather dust or fibers when exposed to air.

In everyday language, sticky is also used metaphorically to describe situations that are awkward or difficult to resolve, such as a “sticky situation” or a “sticky issue.” Food can be sticky when it clings to teeth or surfaces, or when it melts and adheres to cookware or wrappers.

In technology and computing, sticky has several specific meanings. The sticky bit is a Unix permission flag that can be set on directories; when enabled, it restricts deletion or renaming of files within the directory to the file’s owner or the superuser. In web design, position: sticky is a CSS feature that allows an element to behave as part of the normal flow until a scroll threshold is reached, after which it remains fixed in place relative to its scrolling container. A sticky post or pin in forums and blogs refers to a message or item that is kept at the top for prominence. Sticky notes are small, repositionable papers with adhesive used for reminders.

Overall, sticky denotes both physical adhesiveness and a range of related concepts in computing, media, and everyday language.