sticky

Etymology

From stick + -y.

adj

1. Tending to stick; able to adhere via the drying of a viscous substance.
   Is this tape sticky enough to stay on that surface?
   Particularly sticky books are cleaned with methylated spirits. 5 June 2016, Thomas Manch, “CuriousCity: What happens to my library books when I return them?”, in Stuff, archived from the original on 2019-05-04
2. Difficult, awkward.
   This is a sticky situation. We could be in this for weeks if we're not careful.
3. Of a death: unpleasant, grisly.
4. Of weather: hot and windless and with high humidity, so that people feel sticky from sweating.
   The baby was due in December and the hot, sticky August weather was making Jane uncomfortable. 2008, Robert K. Fitts, Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball
5. (finance) Tending to stay the same; resistant to change.
   a sticky price; sticky wages
6. (computing, informal, of a setting) Persistent.
   We should make the printing direction sticky so the user doesn't have to keep setting it.
7. (computing, of a window) Appearing on all virtual desktops.
8. (Internet, of threads on a bulletin board) Fixed at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.
9. (Internet, of a website) Compelling enough to keep visitors from leaving.
   A woman has come to me with the complaint that her website is not sticky: 70% of the visits last 30 seconds or less.
10. (informal) Resembling or characteristic of a stick.

noun

1. A sticky note, such as a post-it note.
   Her desk is covered with yellow stickies.
2. (Internet) A discussion thread fixed at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.
3. (manufacturing) A small adhesive particle found in wastepaper.
4. (Australia, colloquial) A sweet dessert wine.
5. (slang) Sticky-icky; marijuana, especially the sticky, resin-covered buds.
   Still smoking sticky, it ain't no other option / Not for made niggas, and I'm never stopping 12 April 2011, “Made Men”performed by Rick Ross
   As drunk as I was, all I could think about was getting some sticky down my lungs. 2014, Jagada Chambers, Based on a True Story

verb

1. (Internet, bulletin boards, transitive) to fix a thread at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.