Sticker Shock Is What the Price Tag Does to You
A sticker is an adhesive label. American English built a useful phrase on it for the shock of an unexpected price.
A sticker is a small adhesive label. American English coined *sticker shock* for the jolt of seeing a price far higher than expected, from the sticker on a car windscreen. The phrase has spread because the experience has.
- An adhesive label. *A parking sticker.*
- A price label. *The sticker price.*
- Sticker shock — dismay at a price. *Buyers face sticker shock.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | sticker | A round sticker. |
| Plural | stickers | Sheets of stickers. |
| Verb | stick | Stick it on. |
| Adjective | sticky | A sticky label. |
| Compound | sticker price | The sticker price. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The children covered the book in stickers.The object.
- Nobody pays the sticker price.American car buying.
- Energy bills caused sticker shock.Figurative.
Label words
- Sticker — an adhesive label, often decorative
- Label — any identifying tag
- Decal — a transfer applied to a surface
- Tag — a hanging or attached marker
- Barcode — a machine-readable label
From *stick*, Old English *stician*, to pierce or fasten. The adhesive sense dates from the nineteenth century, when gummed paper became cheap.
What is sticker price?
The manufacturer's listed price, especially on a car. It is often a starting point rather than what anyone pays.
Sticker or decal?
A sticker has its own adhesive backing. A decal is a design transferred onto a surface, often from a backing sheet.