sick.
In poor health; ill.
Meaning & usage
In poor health; ill.
We have to care for the sick.
In poor health; ill. [with with] Afflicted by (a specific condition, usually medical).
She was sick all day with the flu.
sick with a cold—sick with contagious diseases—sick with sciatica—sick with love—sick with worry
Having an urge to vomit.
My daughter was violently sick three times in the night.
Mentally unstable, disturbed.
You sick bastard!
In bad taste.
That’s a sick joke.
[with of] Tired of or annoyed by (something that has lasted a long time or often recurs).
sick and tired of the whining—sick of waiting—'sick of politics
I’ve heard that song on the radio so many times that I’m starting to get sick of it.
Very good, excellent, awesome, badass.
This tune is sick.
He showed off his sick surfing skills.
In poor condition.
sick building syndrome; my car is looking pretty sick; my job prospects are pretty sick
Failing to sustain adequate harvests of crop, usually specified.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sik, sike, seek, seke, seok, from Old English sēoc (“sick, ill”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuk, from Proto-Germanic *seukaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sewg- (“to be troubled or grieved”). See also West Frisian siik, Dutch ziek, German siech, Norwegian Bokmål syk, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish sjuk, Danish syg; also Middle Irish socht (“silence, depression”), Old Armenian հիւծանիմ (hiwcanim, “to be weakening”). The "very good, excellent" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "in poor health". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and wicked.
Vomit.
(especially in the phrases on the sick and on long-term sick) Any of various current or former benefits or allowances paid by the Government to support the sick, disabled or incapacitated.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sik, sike, seek, seke, seok, from Old English sēoc (“sick, ill”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuk, from Proto-Germanic *seukaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sewg- (“to be troubled or grieved”). See also West Frisian siik, Dutch ziek, German siech, Norwegian Bokmål syk, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish sjuk, Danish syg; also Middle Irish socht (“silence, depression”), Old Armenian հիւծանիմ (hiwcanim, “to be weakening”). The "very good, excellent" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "in poor health". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and wicked.
To vomit.
I woke up at 4 am and sicked on the floor.
To fall sick; to sicken.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sik, sike, seek, seke, seok, from Old English sēoc (“sick, ill”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuk, from Proto-Germanic *seukaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sewg- (“to be troubled or grieved”). See also West Frisian siik, Dutch ziek, German siech, Norwegian Bokmål syk, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish sjuk, Danish syg; also Middle Irish socht (“silence, depression”), Old Armenian հիւծանիմ (hiwcanim, “to be weakening”). The "very good, excellent" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "in poor health". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and wicked.
Alternative spelling of sic (“set upon”).
Where this word comes from
Variant of sic, itself an alteration of seek.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.