stall

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈstȯl 

1

a

: a compartment for a domestic animal in a stable or barn

b

: a space marked off for parking a motor vehicle

2

a

: a seat in the chancel of a church with back and sides wholly or partly enclosed

b

: a church pew

c

chiefly British : a front orchestra seat in a theater

—usually used in plural

3

: a booth, stand, or counter at which articles are displayed for sale

4

: a protective sheath for a finger or toe

5

: a small compartment

a shower stall

especially : one with a toilet or urinal

stall

2 of 5

verb (1)

stalled; stalling; stalls

transitive verb

1

: to put into or keep in a stall

2

obsolete : install sense 2

3

a

: to bring to a standstill : block

especially : mire

b

: to cause (an engine) to stop usually inadvertently

c

: to cause (an aircraft or airfoil) to go into a stall

intransitive verb

1

: to come to a standstill (as from mired wheels or engine failure)

2

: to experience a stall in flying

stall

3 of 5

noun (2)

: the condition of an airfoil or aircraft in which excessive angle of attack causes disruption of airflow with attendant loss of lift

stall

4 of 5

noun (3)

: a ruse to deceive or delay

stall

5 of 5

verb (2)

stalled; stalling; stalls

intransitive verb

: to play for time : delay

transitive verb

: to hold off, divert, or delay by evasion or deception

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• arrest
• bring up
• catch
• check
• draw up
• fetch up
• halt
• hold up
• pull up
• stay
• still
• stop

Examples of stall in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The blockade, begun in February, has stalled more than 350 key military appointments, forcing temporary and improvised leadership arrangements across the armed forces. —Nick Anderson The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 25 Nov. 2023

The effects could linger for years, turning housing, once the engine that drove the Canadian economy, into a brake that stalls growth, say developers, real-estate brokers and economists. —Vipal Monga, WSJ, 24 Nov. 2023

Some of the pile-up can be attributed to the pandemic, which stalled her Silkroad debut, the new phase emerging finally in 2022 with a tour named, fittingly, Phoenix Rising. —Steve Hochman, SPIN, 20 Nov. 2023

Ukraine’s counteroffensive appears to have stalled, just as wet and cold weather brings to a close the second fighting season in Kyiv’s effort to reverse Russian aggression. —Richard Haass and Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2023

The concern is that maybe things start to stall out on the inflation side. —Paige McGlauflin, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2023

But No Labels’s drive to get a slot on the ballot in all 50 states appears to have stalled at 12. —Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023

The legislation passed the Senate unanimously in 2022, but stalled in the House last session. —Catherine Allen, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2023

The House on Wednesday shot down an effort by GOP leaders to begin consideration of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill after 19 Republicans joined all Democrats to oppose the rule, stalling its chances of passing and complicating Johnson’s path forward on must-pass legislation. —Cami Mondeaux, Washington Examiner, 15 Nov. 2023

Noun

The top tier of patronage during pre-opening fund-raising was a $25,000 package of perks that included having your name on a plaque over one of the museum’s urinals or toilet stalls. —Brett Martin, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2023

Her salon is reminiscent of braiding stalls peppered throughout many West African countries, where remnants of hair extensions dust the floor like tumbleweeds as braiders shift back and forth from French to English while sectioning, twisting and dipping hair in boiling water to seal the ends. —Lateshia Beachum, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2023

And unlicensed doctors and dentists proliferated, as did restaurants and food stalls, shops and family factories. —Matt Benoit, Discover Magazine, 4 Oct. 2023

San Telmo Market is an enormous space that hosts myriad food stalls and vendors selling handmade and antique goods. —Harrison Pierce, Travel + Leisure, 1 Oct. 2023

In 2019, an ancient fast-food stall, also known as a thermopolium, was discovered there. —Paige Hagy, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023

My mother-in-law loves bringing us to a stall that does fermented tofu—grilled with all sorts of sauces from spicy to sweet. —Matt Ortile, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Nov. 2023

Noona Noodles, a stall run by a mother-daughter duo in a food court in Manhattan’s Koreatown, offers two varieties: mul and bibim, rebranded as Icy and Icy Spicy. —Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2023

The home was fully fenced and included a barn with two stalls. —Robyn A. Friedman, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English steall; akin to Old High German stal place, stall and perhaps to Latin locus (Old Latin stlocus) place

Noun (3) and Verb (2)

alteration of stale lure

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1916, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1846, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1903, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing stall

• whip stall
• box stall
• stall-feed

• whip stall
• box stall
• stall-feed

Kids Definition

stall

1 of 5 noun

ˈstȯl 

1

: a compartment for a domestic animal in a stable or barn

2

a

: a seat in the choir of a church with back and sides wholly or partly enclosed

b

chiefly British : a front orchestra seat in a theater

—usually used in plural

3

: a booth, stand, or counter at which articles are displayed for sale

4

: a small compartment

a shower stall

especially : one with a toilet or urinal

stall

2 of 5 verb

1

: to put into or keep in a stall

2

: to stop or cause to stop usually by accident

stall an engine

3

: to experience or cause (an aircraft) to experience a stall in flying

stall

3 of 5 noun

: the condition of an aircraft or a wing of an aircraft in which lift is lost and the aircraft or wing tends to drop

stall

4 of 5 noun

: a trick to deceive or delay

stall

5 of 5 verb

: to distract attention or make excuses to gain time

try to stall them until I get the place cleaned up

Etymology

Noun

Old English steall "stall for an animal"

Noun

an altered form of earlier stale "lure"