come to a sticky end

verb

To die unpleasantly due to one's actions.

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Meanings

verbcome to a sticky end (third-person singular simple present comes to a sticky end, present participle coming to a sticky end, simple past came to a sticky end, past participle come to a sticky end)

present singular third person comes to a sticky end · participle present coming to a sticky end · past came to a sticky end · alternative meet a sticky end

  1. UKidiomaticTo die unpleasantly due to one's actions.

    Newbery in England and Isaiah Thomas in the U.S.A. insisted that their books for children were of a high moral tone. Children had to be good in order to escape from hell, and most bad children came to a very sticky end.

    1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 139
Cite this entry
APA

come to a sticky end. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20a%20sticky%20end

MLA

“come to a sticky end.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20a%20sticky%20end. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “come to a sticky end,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20a%20sticky%20end.

Source: come to a sticky end on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.