stable

play

noun sta·ble \ ˈstā-bəl \

Definition of stable

1 :a building in which domestic animals are sheltered and fed; especially :such a building having stalls or compartments

a horse stable

2 a :the racehorses of one owner

b :a group of people (such as athletes, writers, or performers) under one management

c :the racing cars of one owner

d :group, collection

—

stableman

play \-mən, -ˌman\ noun

See stable defined for English-language learners

See stable defined for kids

Examples of stable in a Sentence

She rode the horse back to the stable.
There have been three winners from his stable this season.
A new model will be added to the car company's stable of sedans.

Recent Examples of stable from the Web

When out-of-state horse trainers and their animals settle into the town’s storied Saratoga Race Course stables around April, the hundreds of migrant workers come, too, Pappas said.

— emma ockerman, Washington Post, "After ICE arrests in Saratoga Springs, some migrant workers fear showing up for racing season," 25 Aug. 2017
Slovakia, which broke away after the fall of communism, also reveres Masaryk, but has built its own stable of national heroes, with the biggest disputes over the country’s wartime leader, Jozef Tiso, who was hanged for collaborating with the Nazis.

— rick lyman, New York Times, "Political Rage Over Statues? Old News in the Old World," 17 Aug. 2017
August 4, 1967 Horse owners interested in continued use of the fairgrounds stables presented their request to rent stalls to the county commissioners Monday afternoon.

— kitty conley, Post-Tribune, "Lake County Star Newspaper Almanac," 31 July 2017
Hoff, Barwick, Gooch, Sykes, Robinson and McCray give him a good stable of veterans to start with, and youth behind them ought to improve enough to fill in the gaps.

— zach osterman, The Courier-Journal, "Position primer: IU's defensive improvement all starts up front," 19 July 2017
But most are gone now, save for a portion of the original brewhouse that fronts the Cincinnati Ballet’s training facility, and for one of the stables, now part of Chatfield College.

— shauna steigerwald, Cincinnati.com, "Cool Homes: A beer baron slept in this Fairfield home," 12 July 2017
A textile shop and stables are also now being rebuilt or restored.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Sally Hemings Gets Her Own Room at Monticello," 5 July 2017
To be part of the program, the kids work in the stables, muck out the stalls and groom the horses.

— pat eaton-robb, courant.com, "Shariah Harris First African-American Women To Ride In Top-Tier Polo Event," 29 June 2017
The next day, Alex heads to the stables to meet Toby for his riding date with Spencer.

— de elizabeth, Teen Vogue, ""Pretty Little Liars" Finale Recap: "A.D." Is Revealed," 28 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of stable

Middle English, from Anglo-French estable, stable, from Latin stabulum, from stare to stand — more at stand

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

stable

verb

Definition of stable

stabled; stabling play \-b(ə-)liŋ\

transitive verb

:to put or keep in a stable

intransitive verb

:to dwell in or as if in a stable

See stable defined for English-language learners

Examples of stable in a Sentence

Where do you stable your horses?

Recent Examples of stable from the Web

DEEP STABLE Barnes and Silmon are likely to split most of the carries, while Warmack will try to work his way into the running back mix.

— dave skretta, The Seattle Times, "Snyder, Ertz could give K-State another winning combo," 10 Aug. 2017
Girvin is stabled at Saratoga so the Aug. 26 Travers has to be on the agenda.

— dick jerardi, Philly.com, "Everything's Rosie for Girvin in Haskell," 30 July 2017
Flannery said that the Poplar Level Road site for years has been used by Churchill Downs for training and for stabling horses.

— sheldon s. shafer, The Courier-Journal, "Churchill Downs to develop $60M instant racing betting facility on Poplar Level," 20 June 2017
Holstein calfs and Brown Swiss working steers were stabled in the cattle barn.

— denise coffey, Courant Community, "Brooklyn Ag Days Celebrates Agricultural Traditions," 14 June 2017
Think about it: Stable, affordable, quality housing reduces the risk of overcrowding, homelessness, exposure to environmental toxins or the undue stress of being house poor.

— steve pontell, Orange County Register, "We must work together to heal nation through housing," 15 Apr. 2017

First Known Use of stable

14th century

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

stable

adjective

Definition of stable

stabler play \-b(ə-)lər\; stablest play \-b(ə-)ləst\

1 a :firmly established :fixed, steadfast

stable opinions

b :not changing or fluctuating :unvarying

in stable condition

c :permanent, enduring

stable civilizations

2 a :steady in purpose :firm in resolution

b :not subject to insecurity or emotional illness :sane, rational

a stable personality

3 a (1) :placed so as to resist forces tending to cause motion or change of motion

(2) :designed so as to develop forces that restore the original condition when disturbed from a condition of equilibrium or steady motion

b (1) :not readily altering in chemical makeup or physical state

stable emulsions

(2) :not spontaneously radioactive

—

stableness

play \-bəl-nəs\ noun

—

stably

play \-b(ə-)lē\ adverb

See stable defined for English-language learners

Examples of stable in a Sentence

They have a stable relationship.
Children need to be raised in a stable environment.
Make sure the platform is stable.

Recent Examples of stable from the Web

The hospital reported in a statement that Johnson is in fair condition and his vital signs are stable.

— Washington Post, "The Latest: Chicago police superintendent gets new kidney," 30 Aug. 2017
The award highlights the accomplishments of people, agencies and developments that work to create safe and stable homes.

— allison sampite-montecalvo, sandiegouniontribune.com, "National City affordable housing project wins "ruby" award," 28 Aug. 2017
Coming back to that dynamic in Siesta Key was taking me back to high-school relationships that weren't nearly as stable or of good quality.

— mark shrayber, Cosmopolitan, "Siesta Key Star Madisson on Alex's Charm and Why She's Done With Him for Good," 21 Aug. 2017
Omega-9 fatty acids, or oleic acid, makes the oil both more stable and healthful.

— deena shanker, Bloomberg.com, "Trans Fat Is (Almost) Out of Your Food. Here's What's Going In," 17 Aug. 2017
While higher pay may ultimately lead to a more stable workforce in the long term, short-term fixes could include hiring an outside firm to transport prisoners and shortening visiting hours so that more guards can be in the housing units.

— mike hendricks, kansascity, "Jail lawsuit asks judge to order Jackson County to address dirty, dangerous conditions," 11 Aug. 2017
Jovenes provides stable housing and support services for homeless youth.

— lisa beebe, Los Angeles Magazine, "The LA Taco Festival Is Your Chance to Inhale an Insane Amount of Tacos for a Good Cause," 1 Aug. 2017
Vinyl cyanide is a chemical that, in computer simulation models, was able to maintain stable cellular walls using nitrogen and methane instead of water.

— shannon stirone, Popular Mechanics, "Chemical on Saturn's Moon Titan Could Form Cell Membranes," 28 July 2017
But at the same time, epistemic curiosity, namely the love of knowledge and wanting to acquire more knowledge, actually appears to be fairly stable across adulthood.

— jessica gross, Longreads, "Why Are Humans So Curious?," 18 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of stable

Middle English, from Anglo-French estable, stable, from Latin stabilis, from stare to stand

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

stable Synonyms

Synonyms

bombproof, fast, firm, sound, stalwart, strong, sturdy

Antonyms

rickety, unsound, unstable, unsteady

Related Words

dependable, durable, reliable; infrangible, irrefragable, unbreakable; beefy, solid; cohesive, tough

Near Antonyms

infirm, insecure, weak; shaky, tottering, tottery, unbalanced, wobbly (also wabbly); unsubstantial

Synonym Discussion of stable

lasting, permanent, durable, stable mean enduring for so long as to seem fixed or established. lasting implies a capacity to continue indefinitely.

- a book that left a lasting impression on me

permanent adds usually the implication of being designed or planned to stand or continue indefinitely.

- permanent living arrangements

durable implies power to resist destructive agencies.

- durable fabrics

stable implies lastingness because of resistance to being overturned or displaced.

- a stable government

Other Aeronautics/Aerospace Terms

airway, apron, corridor, dirigible, fishtail, flat-hat, vector

STABLE Defined for English Language Learners

stable

play

noun

Definition of stable for English Language Learners

: a building in which horses are kept, fed, and cared for
: the group of racehorses that belong to the same owner
: a group of people (such as athletes, writers, or performers) who work for or are trained by the same person, organization, or business

stable

verb

Definition of stable for English Language Learners

: to put or keep (a horse) in a stable

stable

adjective

Definition of stable for English Language Learners

: in a good state or condition that is not easily changed or likely to change
medical : not getting worse or likely to get worse
: not easily moved

STABLE Defined for Kids

stable

play

noun sta·ble \ ˈstā-bəl \

Definition of stable for Students

:a building in which horses are housed and cared for

stable

verb

Definition of stable for Students

stabled; stabling

:to put or keep in a stable

stable

adjective

Definition of stable for Students

stabler; stablest

1 :not easily changed or affected

a stable government

2 :not likely to change suddenly or greatly

a stable income

3 :lasting

a stable peace

Medical Dictionary

stable

play

adjective sta·ble \ ˈstā-bəl \

medical Definition of stable

stabler play \-b(ə-)lər\; stablest play \-b(ə-)ləst\

1 :not changing or fluctuating

the patient's condition was listed as stable

2 :not subject to insecurity or emotional illness

a stable personality

3 a :not readily altering in chemical makeup or physical state

stable emulsions

b :not spontaneously radioactive

a stable isotope

Learn More about stable

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stable

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stableman

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Origin and Etymology of stable

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

stable

Definition of stable

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First Known Use of stable

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

stable

Definition of stable

stableness

stably

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Origin and Etymology of stable

stable Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

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Synonym Discussion of stable

Other Aeronautics/Aerospace Terms

STABLE Defined for English Language Learners

stable

Definition of stable for English Language Learners

stable

Definition of stable for English Language Learners

stable

Definition of stable for English Language Learners

STABLE Defined for Kids

stable

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stable

Definition of stable for Students

stable

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Medical Dictionary

stable

medical Definition of stable

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