"stick to one's guns" meaning in English

See stick to one's guns in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-stick to one's guns.ogg Forms: sticks to one's guns [present, singular, third-person], sticking to one's guns [participle, present], stuck to one's guns [participle, past], stuck to one's guns [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|stick<,,stuck> to one's guns}} stick to one's guns (third-person singular simple present sticks to one's guns, present participle sticking to one's guns, simple past and past participle stuck to one's guns)
  1. (dated, military, of gunners) To persist in faithfully attending to cannons while under fire. Tags: dated Categories (topical): Military Synonyms: stick by one's guns Related terms: hold the line
    Sense id: en-stick_to_one's_guns-en-verb-EVRkP6Gz Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 93 7 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 84 16 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 89 11 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 93 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 81 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 87 13 Topics: government, military, politics, war
  2. (idiomatic, by extension) To maintain one’s position or viewpoint when faced with opposition. Tags: broadly, idiomatic Translations (to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition): pitää pintansa (Finnish), pysyä kannassaan (Finnish), camper sur ses positions (French), tenere duro (Italian), obstawać przy swoim (Polish), obstać przy swoim [perfective] (Polish), стоя́ть на своём (stojátʹ na svojóm) (Russian), seguir erre que erre (Spanish), stå på sig (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-stick_to_one's_guns-en-verb-Jvp9XzCn Disambiguation of "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition": 10 90

Alternative forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "sticks to one's guns",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "sticking to one's guns",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "stuck to one's guns",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "stuck to one's guns",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stick<,,stuck> to one's guns"
      },
      "expansion": "stick to one's guns (third-person singular simple present sticks to one's guns, present participle sticking to one's guns, simple past and past participle stuck to one's guns)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Military",
          "orig": "en:Military",
          "parents": [
            "Society",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
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        {
          "_dis": "93 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
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          "_dis": "84 16",
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          "_dis": "93 7",
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        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "81 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "83 17",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
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        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
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        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1970, James Henderson, The Frigates, an account of the lesser warships of the wars from 1793 to 1815, London: Wordsworth, page 73:",
          "text": "Capitan Beaulieu-de-Long and his first lieutenant were both killed, several guns dismounted, and many of the [French frigate] crew killed and wounded. . . . Nevertheless the French stuck bravely to their guns, while the flame of the cannonade illuminated the scene beneath the canopy of smoke.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To persist in faithfully attending to cannons while under fire."
      ],
      "id": "en-stick_to_one's_guns-en-verb-EVRkP6Gz",
      "links": [
        [
          "military",
          "military"
        ],
        [
          "gunner",
          "gunner"
        ],
        [
          "persist",
          "persist"
        ],
        [
          "cannon",
          "cannon"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(dated, military, of gunners) To persist in faithfully attending to cannons while under fire."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of gunners"
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "68 32",
          "word": "hold the line"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "68 32",
          "word": "stick by one's guns"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "military",
        "politics",
        "war"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1898, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Quiller-Couch, chapter 29, in St. Ives:",
          "text": "Ronald had stuck to his guns and refused me to the last.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, Agatha Christie, chapter 15, in The Secret Adversary:",
          "text": "\"I intend to marry, of course,\" replied Tuppence. \"That is, if\"—she paused, knew a momentary longing to draw back, and then stuck to her guns bravely—\"I can find some one rich enough to make it worth my while.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2004 September 3, Mitch Frank, “Bush Finds His Agenda”, in Time, retrieved 2015-09-19:",
          "text": "The President . . . stuck to his guns on that, not repeating any of his recent admissions that there had been \"miscalculations\" in planning for the war.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 December 8, Phil McNulty, “Chelsesa 2 - 0 Manchester City”, in BBC Sport:",
          "text": "Sarri has been questioned for his decision to use Jorginho as the hub of his team while pushing Kante into a more advanced role out on the right - why have the player many regard as the finest holding midfield player in world football and not utilise him there?\nSarri has stuck to his guns and this was a game - and performance by Kante - that added significant weight to his argument.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To maintain one’s position or viewpoint when faced with opposition."
      ],
      "id": "en-stick_to_one's_guns-en-verb-Jvp9XzCn",
      "links": [
        [
          "position",
          "position"
        ],
        [
          "viewpoint",
          "viewpoint"
        ],
        [
          "opposition",
          "opposition"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, by extension) To maintain one’s position or viewpoint when faced with opposition."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
          "word": "pitää pintansa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
          "word": "pysyä kannassaan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
          "word": "camper sur ses positions"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
          "word": "tenere duro"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
          "word": "obstawać przy swoim"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "obstać przy swoim"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "stojátʹ na svojóm",
          "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
          "word": "стоя́ть на своём"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
          "word": "seguir erre que erre"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
          "word": "stå på sig"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-stick to one's guns.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c8/En-au-stick_to_one%27s_guns.ogg/En-au-stick_to_one%27s_guns.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/En-au-stick_to_one%27s_guns.ogg"
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  ],
  "word": "stick to one's guns"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "sticks to one's guns",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "sticking to one's guns",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "stuck to one's guns",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "stuck to one's guns",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
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  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stick<,,stuck> to one's guns"
      },
      "expansion": "stick to one's guns (third-person singular simple present sticks to one's guns, present participle sticking to one's guns, simple past and past participle stuck to one's guns)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "hold the line"
    }
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  "senses": [
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        "English dated terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1970, James Henderson, The Frigates, an account of the lesser warships of the wars from 1793 to 1815, London: Wordsworth, page 73:",
          "text": "Capitan Beaulieu-de-Long and his first lieutenant were both killed, several guns dismounted, and many of the [French frigate] crew killed and wounded. . . . Nevertheless the French stuck bravely to their guns, while the flame of the cannonade illuminated the scene beneath the canopy of smoke.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To persist in faithfully attending to cannons while under fire."
      ],
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          "military",
          "military"
        ],
        [
          "gunner",
          "gunner"
        ],
        [
          "persist",
          "persist"
        ],
        [
          "cannon",
          "cannon"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(dated, military, of gunners) To persist in faithfully attending to cannons while under fire."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of gunners"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "military",
        "politics",
        "war"
      ]
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    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1898, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Quiller-Couch, chapter 29, in St. Ives:",
          "text": "Ronald had stuck to his guns and refused me to the last.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, Agatha Christie, chapter 15, in The Secret Adversary:",
          "text": "\"I intend to marry, of course,\" replied Tuppence. \"That is, if\"—she paused, knew a momentary longing to draw back, and then stuck to her guns bravely—\"I can find some one rich enough to make it worth my while.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2004 September 3, Mitch Frank, “Bush Finds His Agenda”, in Time, retrieved 2015-09-19:",
          "text": "The President . . . stuck to his guns on that, not repeating any of his recent admissions that there had been \"miscalculations\" in planning for the war.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 December 8, Phil McNulty, “Chelsesa 2 - 0 Manchester City”, in BBC Sport:",
          "text": "Sarri has been questioned for his decision to use Jorginho as the hub of his team while pushing Kante into a more advanced role out on the right - why have the player many regard as the finest holding midfield player in world football and not utilise him there?\nSarri has stuck to his guns and this was a game - and performance by Kante - that added significant weight to his argument.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To maintain one’s position or viewpoint when faced with opposition."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "position",
          "position"
        ],
        [
          "viewpoint",
          "viewpoint"
        ],
        [
          "opposition",
          "opposition"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, by extension) To maintain one’s position or viewpoint when faced with opposition."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-stick to one's guns.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c8/En-au-stick_to_one%27s_guns.ogg/En-au-stick_to_one%27s_guns.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/En-au-stick_to_one%27s_guns.ogg"
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "stick by one's guns"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
      "word": "pitää pintansa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
      "word": "pysyä kannassaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
      "word": "camper sur ses positions"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
      "word": "tenere duro"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
      "word": "obstawać przy swoim"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "obstać przy swoim"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "stojátʹ na svojóm",
      "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
      "word": "стоя́ть на своём"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
      "word": "seguir erre que erre"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition",
      "word": "stå på sig"
    }
  ],
  "word": "stick to one's guns"
}

Download raw JSONL data for stick to one's guns meaning in English (5.3kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-10 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (df33d17 and 4ed51a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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