sty

UK: /ˈstaɪ/ US: /staɪ/ ,(stī)

Inflections of 'sty' (n): npl: sties

Inflections of 'sty' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

sties

v 3rd person singular

stying

v pres p

stied

v past

stied

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

sty¹ /staɪ/   n. [countable] , pl. sties. 

1. a pen for swine;
   pigpen.
2. a filthy place, house, etc.

sty² or stye /staɪ/   n. [countable] , pl. sties or styes. 

1. Ophthalmology an infected area caused by bacteria on the glands on the edge of the eyelid.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

sty¹ (stī),  n., pl. sties, v., stied, sty•ing. 

n. 

1. a pen or enclosure for swine;
   pigpen.
2. any filthy place or abode.
3. a place of bestial debauchery.

v.t. 

4. to keep or lodge in or as if in a sty.

v.i. 

5. to live in or as if in a sty.

• bef. 1000; (noun, nominal) Middle English; Old English *stī in stī-fearh sty-pig; probably identical with stig- in stigweard steward; cognate with Old Norse stī, Dutch stijg, German Steige

sty²  (stī), n., pl. sties. [Ophthalm.]

1. Ophthalmology a circumscribed abscess caused by bacterial infection of the glands on the edge of the eyelid;
   hordeolum.

Also, stye. 

• by false division of Middle English styanye sty (styan (Old English stīgend sty, literally, rising) + ye eye), taken to be sty on eye 1610–20

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

sty / staɪ/ noun (sties)

1. a pen in which pigs are housed and fed
2. any filthy or corrupt place

verb (sties, stying, stied)

1. to enclose or be enclosed in a sty

Etymology: Old English stig; related to Old Norse stīa pen, fold, Old High German stīga, Middle Dutch stije

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

stye, sty / staɪ/ noun (styes, sties)

1. inflammation of a sebaceous gland of the eyelid, usually caused by bacteria

Etymology: 15th Century styanye (mistakenly taken as sty on eye), from Old English stīgend rising, hence swelling, stye + ye eye