sick
sick — adjective
1. suffering from a disease or medical condition that prevents your body or mind fr
suffering from a disease or medical condition that prevents your body or mind from working as it should
Lien was too sick to go to school yesterday, so she stayed in bed.
too sick to + infinitive
The sick child lay quietly while the nurse checked her temperature.
attributive use before a noun
Michael has been sick for nearly a week with a bad chest infection.
sick for + duration
Many sick animals were brought to the clinic after the storm.
Constanza felt too sick to eat dinner and went straight to bed.
- dangerously sick
- critically sick
- sick patient
- sick leave
- sick note
Usage Note
In British English, 'be sick' usually means 'vomit' (see sense 4), not simply 'be ill'. Use 'be ill' or 'feel unwell' to avoid confusion in the UK.
Common Mistakes
2. to phone the place where you work and tell them you cannot come in because you a
to phone the place where you work and tell them you cannot come in because you are unwell
Élise called in sick this morning because she had a high fever.
call in sick — phrasal pattern
Kabir has been off sick for three days with a stomach problem.
off sick — phrasal pattern
You should report sick if your illness might spread to your colleagues.
Zayd sent an email to his manager to say he would be off sick.
- call in sick
- be off sick
- report sick
- go sick
- take sick leave
more formal and includes the idea of official leave from work
Grammar Patterns
call in sick
be off sick
report sick
Usage Note
This sense does not stand alone as an adjective — it appears only in fixed phrases like 'call in sick', 'be off sick', or 'report sick'. The structure is always [verb] + sick.
3. experiencing an unpleasant feeling in your stomach as if the food inside it is a
experiencing an unpleasant feeling in your stomach as if the food inside it is about to come up through your mouth
The smell of the fish market made Constanza feel sick to her stomach.
feel sick to one's stomach — set phrase
Wei felt sick during the long bus ride on the winding mountain road.
travel sickness context
The patient told the nurse she felt sick right after taking the medicine.
Mira avoided looking at her phone in the taxi because it made her feel sick.
feel sick — typical pattern
The sight of blood makes some people feel sick and dizzy.
- feel sick
- make someone sick
- sick to one's stomach
- travel sick
- carsick
- seasick
- nauseous
more formal or medical, less common in everyday speech
- queasy
less intense, a mild feeling that something may come up
- carsick / seasick
specific types of nausea caused by motion
- settled
opposite feeling, when the stomach is calm
Grammar Patterns
feel sick
be sick
make someone sick
Usage Note
In British English, 'I feel sick' almost always means 'I feel nauseous', not 'I feel ill in general'. For general illness, use 'I feel ill' or 'I feel unwell'.
4. to have food or drink from your stomach come back up and leave your body through
to have food or drink from your stomach come back up and leave your body through the mouth, typically because of illness or an upset stomach
The puppy ate too much grass and was sick all over the kitchen floor.
be sick — British English for vomit
After eating the bad seafood, Mira was sick twice during the night.
The doctor asked whether the child had been sick or just had a fever.
Yasmin felt a sudden wave of nausea and was sick into the bathroom sink.
was sick into + location
- be sick
- make oneself sick
- sick up
Grammar Patterns
be sick
make oneself sick
Usage Note
In British English, 'be sick' is the most common way to say 'vomit'. In American English, 'throw up', 'get sick', or 'vomit' are more common. Learners in Taiwan studying British English should know that 'I was sick' can mean 'I vomited'.
Common Mistakes
5. feeling annoyed, irritated, or disgusted by a situation that just will not stop
feeling annoyed, irritated, or disgusted by a situation that just will not stop or change
Eric was sick of hearing the same excuse from his roommate every week.
sick of + gerund
The neighbours are sick of the noise coming from the building site.
After ten years of the same daily routine, Constanza was sick of her job.
Wei is sick and tired of people who do not clean up after their dogs.
sick and tired of — emphatic form
Kabir was sick of waiting for the bus that never arrived on time.
- sick of
- sick and tired of
- worried sick
- sick to death of
- fed up with
similar meaning, slightly less strong, informal
- tired of
less intense, focuses on boredom rather than anger
- disgusted by
stronger, focuses on moral outrage
Grammar Patterns
sick of + noun/gerund
sick and tired of + noun/gerund
Usage Note
Unlike senses 1-4, this sense requires a complement — you are sick 'of' something or someone. It cannot stand alone: 'I am sick' means ill or nauseous, but 'I am sick of it' expresses annoyance.
Common Mistakes
6. dealing with death, pain, or violence in a way that most people find cruel, offe
dealing with death, pain, or violence in a way that most people find cruel, offensive, or deeply disturbing
The horror film was full of sick scenes that made the audience look away.
sick + noun — describes disturbing content
Eric told a sick joke about the accident, and nobody laughed.
Some people have a sick sense of humour that others find deeply offensive.
sick sense of humour — common collocation
The article described the disaster in sick detail that was not necessary.
- sick joke
- sick sense of humour
- sick mind
- sick details
- sick film
- disturbing
focuses on the emotional effect on the observer
- morbid
specifically about an unhealthy interest in death
- twisted
informal, suggests something is mentally wrong
- macabre
more formal, about the unpleasantness of death
- wholesome
opposite — clean, healthy, and morally good
Usage Note
This sense is stronger than 'cruel' — it suggests something that is morally disturbing, not just unkind. It is often used to describe jokes, humour, or film content that crosses a social boundary.
7. extremely good, impressive, or enjoyable — used as informal slang, especially by
extremely good, impressive, or enjoyable — used as informal slang, especially by younger speakers
That skateboard trick was sick — Wei landed it perfectly on the first try.
informal slang: sick = awesome
Lien showed us some sick dance moves at the party last night.
The concert was absolutely sick — the band played all their best songs.
absolutely sick — intensifier pattern
Christopher bought a sick new guitar with a built-in effects system.
- absolutely sick
- totally sick
- sick move
- sick guitar
- sick beat
- lame
slang opposite meaning 'uncool' or 'disappointing'
Usage Note
This slang sense is the opposite of sense 6 — a 'sick joke' is bad, but a 'sick guitar' is great. Context is everything. This meaning is most common among younger speakers in informal situations and may sound strange or confusing to older listeners.
Common Mistakes
be sick
idiomTo bring food from your stomach back out through your mouth.
After eating bad seafood, Min was sick all night.
Did the baby be sick after drinking that milk?
To be extremely worried about someone or something.
Sara was worried sick when her son didn't come home.
Diego was sick with worry before his job interview.
fall sick
idiomTo become ill or unwell.
Many students fell sick after the school trip.
Aiden fell sick with a fever last weekend.
make somebody sick
idiomTo make someone very angry or disgusted.
The unfair treatment makes me sick.
Does his rude behavior make you sick?
(as) sick as a dog
idiomFeeling very ill and vomiting a lot.
After the roller coaster, Maya was sick as a dog.
Brian felt sick as a dog and stayed in bed.
Very disappointed about something that happened.
He was sick as a parrot when his team lost.
Sara felt sick as a parrot after failing the test.
sick at heart
idiomFeeling very unhappy or disappointed about a situation.
Min was sick at heart after hearing the bad news.
The teacher felt sick at heart seeing students cheat.
sick to your stomach
idiomFeeling very angry or worried about something.
Nora was sick to her stomach when she saw the mess.
That cruel joke made me sick to my stomach.
sick — noun
1. those who suffer from illness, seen as a group within a community
those who suffer from illness, seen as a group within a community
The hospital has a special wing for the sick and the elderly.
the sick — plural noun with 'the'
Nurses care for the sick with kindness and patience every day.
The charity delivers meals to the sick who cannot leave their homes.
During the outbreak, volunteers brought medicine to help the sick.
- the sick
- the sick and the elderly
- care for the sick
- help the sick
- the ill
more common in British English, slightly more formal
- the healthy
people who are not ill
Grammar Patterns
the sick
Usage Note
'The sick' functions as a plural noun, not a singular one. It always takes a plural verb: 'the sick are treated', not 'the sick is treated'. To refer to one person, say 'a sick person'.
Common Mistakes
2. food or liquid that has come up from a person's stomach and out through their mo
food or liquid that has come up from a person's stomach and out through their mouth
There was sick on the pavement outside the restaurant.
sick — uncountable noun for vomit
The smell of sick made everyone else in the room feel ill.
The cleaner had to mop the sick from the bathroom floor.
The doctor took a sample of the sick to send for testing.
- smell of sick
- pool of sick
- be covered in sick
Usage Note
As a noun, 'sick' is uncountable and does not have a plural form. For a single event, use 'a lot of sick' rather than 'a sick'. The more clinical term is 'vomit'.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- sicknessnounB1
- sickenverbB2
- sicklyadjectiveB2
- sickeningadjectiveB2
Synonym discussion
Sense: adjective/1
All four alternatives describe poor health, but they differ in register and regional use. 'Ill' is the most common in British English and is suitable for both formal and everyday use — you can say 'She is ill with a fever' in a letter or a conversation. 'Unwell' is more polite and slightly softer; doctors often ask 'Are you feeling unwell?' rather than 'Are you sick?' to sound more gentle. 'Poorly' is informal and mainly British — it sounds warm and natural in casual speech ('The little girl is poorly today'). 'Under the weather' is an idiom that means mildly unwell, not seriously sick. You would use it when you have a headache or a cold but can still function: 'I am feeling a bit under the weather, so I will work from home.' Unlike 'sick', none of these alternatives are used for vomiting in British English, which makes them safer choices for learners communicating in the UK.
Common collocations
Adverbs
- desperately
- seriously
- critically
- terminally
- terribly
Phrases
- sick as a dog
Etymology
The word 'sick' comes from Old English 'seoc', which meant 'ill, diseased, or weak'. This word goes back to Proto-Germanic '*seukaz', and is related to Old High German 'sioh' (German 'siech') and Gothic 'siuks'. The slang meaning 'excellent' (sense 7) is a much more recent development — it emerged in African American Vernacular English in the late 20th century and spread into mainstream youth slang by the 1990s and 2000s, creating the unusual situation where 'sick' has two opposite meanings.