stag

1 of 3

noun

ˈstag 

plural stags

1

or plural stag : an adult male red deer

also : the male of various other deer (especially genus Cervus)

2

chiefly Scotland : a young horse

especially : a young unbroken stallion

3

: a male animal castrated after sexual maturity compare steer sense 1

4

: a young adult male domestic chicken or turkey

5

a

: a social gathering of men only

b

: one who attends a dance or party without a companion

stag

2 of 3

verb

stagged; stagging

transitive verb

British

: to spy on

intransitive verb

: to attend a dance or party without a companion

stag

3 of 3

adjective

1

a

: restricted to men

a stag party

b

: intended for a male audience

especially : pornographic

stag movies

2

: unaccompanied by someone of the opposite sex

stag women

stag adverb

Synonyms

Adjective

• pornographic
• obscene
• vulgar
• blue
• nasty
• foul
• dirty
• suggestive
• filthy
• naughty

Examples of stag in a Sentence

Adjective

a stash of stag flicks that were hidden in the basement

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Crucially, the muscles of stags that had been hunted to death contained higher levels of lactic acid, while deer from a slaughterhouse who had their limbs immobilized in a splint before their death had lower levels, suggesting that the acid was generated by physical exertion. —Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 24 Apr. 2025

Unblocking the toilet after a stag do or doing double shift in an abbatoire on a sunny bank holiday weekend? —The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 17 May 2025

Adjective

Hannah Dale, the founder of Wrendale Designs and artist behind the stag cards, told Hello! —Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 30 Dec. 2022

Biologists say that these fantastic shapes — from the giant curved tusks of woolly mammoths to the nightmarish jaws of stag beetles — evolved to ward off competition from rival males and to impress females. —Kendall Powell, Discover Magazine, 6 Dec. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English stagge, from Old English stagga; akin to Old Norse andarsteggi drake

Verb

stag (informer)

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1796, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Adjective

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing stag

• go stag
• stag beetle
• stag night
• stag party

Rhymes for stag

• ag
• bag
• brag
• dag
• drag
• flag
• gag
• hag
• hagg
• lag
• mag
• nag

Kids Definition

stag

1 of 2 noun

ˈstag 

plural stags

1

or plural stag : an adult male deer especially of one of the larger kinds

2

a

: a social gathering of men only

b

: a man who attends a dance or party unaccompanied by a woman

stag

2 of 2 adjective

1

: intended for men only

a stag party

2

: unaccompanied by someone of the opposite sex

stag adverb