sty
sty Lexical Profile
sty Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An enclosure, pen, or small shed where pigs are kept.
"The farmer repaired the wooden fence around the sty before bringing in the new piglets."
A very dirty, untidy, or squalid room or place.
"After a week of neglecting housework during final exams, his apartment looked like a complete sty."
American A small, painful, inflamed swelling on the edge of the eyelid caused by a bacterial infection of a sebaceous gland.
"The optometrist recommended applying a warm compress several times a day to help the sty heal."
• verb
To keep, confine, or lodge in or as if in a pigsty.
"The farmhands stied the hogs before the evening storm arrived."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to an inflamed swelling on the eyelid, the word is spelled 'sty' (mainly in American English) or 'stye' (standard in British English and common in American English), whereas the sense meaning a pigpen or filthy room is always spelled 'sty'.
• Rhymes for sty
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
In the sense of a pigpen, from Old English 'stig', meaning an enclosure or hall. The medical sense of an eyelid swelling comes from late Middle English 'styan', probably derived from Old English 'stigan' ('to rise') combined with 'ye' ('eye').