stall

1 of 5

noun (1)

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
That congestion could still stall the refuelling effort, even if Energoatom efficiently upgrades and relicenses its reactors and Westinghouse delivers sufficient fuel in time. IEEE Spectrum, 1 Mar. 2023 Edge computing is the next frontier for IT; Its power, space and ruggedization barriers will continue to stall many IT projects. Matt Kimball, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2023 The sale runs through Tuesday, February 21 at 12 p.m. ET, but sizes always sell out fast, so don't stall! Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 17 Feb. 2023 Sturgeon's exit will likely stall Scotland's independence efforts, even as the SNP continues to push for a new referendum. Justin Klawans, The Week, 15 Feb. 2023 Forman said that if housing efforts continue to stall, Braintree may slip beneath the state mandate that requires 10 percent of a town’s inventory be set aside as affordable housing. Andrew Brinker, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Feb. 2023 Turkey indicated Sweden’s rejection of its extradition demand is negative to NATO’s enlargement, which Turkey continues to stall. Beril Akman, Bloomberg.com, 20 Dec. 2022 Kelly Gallaher, whose group A Better Mount Pleasant has been a vocal critic of the village and the Foxconn project, said without Maldonado pushing the village board to restart negotiations, the village would have continued to stall. Corrinne Hess, Journal Sentinel, 19 Dec. 2022 On Thursday, the company made the statement as the fate of $52 billion in funding for the CHIPS Act continues to stall in Congress. Michael Kan, PCMAG, 23 June 2022
Noun
In the scene in the bathroom stall, the camera stays on your face. Vulture, 30 Nov. 2022 David stands upright in a bathroom stall for seven days. Eli Grober, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2022 On July 22, police responded to a report of a man passed out in a bathroom stall. Cheryl Higley, cleveland, 31 July 2022 For Ortega's character, Vada, that involves growing closer with a dancer from her school, played by Dance Moms' Maddie Ziegler, whom she becomes bonded with after they're forced to hide together in a bathroom stall during the attack. Brendan Morrow, The Week, 25 July 2022 Unfortunately, the heartbreaking feelings of loss were all too familiar to Murgatroyd, who suffered her first miscarriage in a Whole Foods bathroom stall in the fall of 2020, five weeks into pregnancy. Lanae Brody, PEOPLE.com, 21 June 2022 Two sallow-cheeked women (who later shared a bathroom stall) sat with a septuagenarian and his bobbing toothpick. Sloane Crosley, Town & Country, 23 Jan. 2022 Getting medical advice from an anonymous social media account would be like getting medical advice from the graffiti in a public bathroom stall. Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2021 Michael Hernandez, the notorious killer who murdered his best friend inside a bathroom stall at Southwood Middle High in 2004, died of a heart irregularity, according to an autopsy released on Monday. David Ovalle, sun-sentinel.com, 9 Aug. 2021 See More

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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of stall was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near stall

Cite this Entry

“Stall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stall. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

stall

1 of 5 noun
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"

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