stop

1 of 4

verb

ˈstäp 

stopped; stopping

intransitive verb

1

a

: to cease activity or operation

his heart stopped

the motor stopped

b(1)

: to come to an end especially suddenly : close, finish

The talking stopped when she entered the room.

(2)

: to bring an activity to an end

He likes to tease but knows when to stop.

She said she was unhappy with some employees but stopped short of naming which ones. [=did not say which ones]

2

a

: to cease to move on : halt

They were walking away and suddenly stopped.

I stopped dead in my tracks [=stopped suddenly] when I saw the bear.

b

: pause, hesitate

He stopped to catch his breath.

3

a

: to break one's journey to eat, rest, etc. : stay

Let's stop here for lunch.

We stopped for a night in Atlanta.

b

: to go to a place during a journey

The tour stops in several cities.

c

chiefly British : remain

d

: to make a brief call : drop in

4

: to become choked : clog

the sink often stops up

transitive verb

1

a

: to close by filling or obstructing

b

: to hinder or prevent the passage of

c

: to get in the way of : be wounded or killed by

… easy to stop a bullet along a lonely … road.

—Harvey Fergusson

2

a

: to close up or block off (an opening) : plug

b

: to make impassable : choke, obstruct

c

: to cover over or fill in (a hole or crevice)

3

a

: to cause to give up or change a course of action

b

: to keep from carrying out a proposed action : restrain, prevent

stopped them from leaving

4

a

: to cause to cease : check, suppress

b

: discontinue

5

a

: to deduct or withhold (a sum due)

b

: to instruct one's bank to refuse (payment) or refuse payment of (something, such as a check)

6

a

: to arrest the progress or motion of : cause to halt

stopped the car

b

: parry

c

: to check by means of a weapon : bring down, kill

d

: to beat in a boxing match by a knockout

broadly : defeat

e

: baffle, nonplus

7

a

: to change the pitch of (something, such as a violin string) by pressing with the finger

b

: to change the pitch of (a wind instrument) by closing one or more finger holes or by thrusting the hand or a mute into the bell

8

: to hold an honor card and enough protecting cards to be able to block (a bridge suit) before an opponent can run many tricks

stoppable

ˈstä-pə-bəl 

adjective

see also:

stop at nothing

stop

2 of 4

noun

1

a

: cessation, end

brought all work to a stop

They wanted to put a stop to [=end] the rumors.

b

: a pause or breaking off in speech

2

a(1)

: a graduated set of organ pipes of similar design and tone quality

(2)

: a corresponding set of vibrators or reeds of a reed organ

(3)

: stop knob

—often used figuratively in phrases like pull out all the stops to suggest holding nothing back

b

: a means of regulating the pitch of a musical instrument

3

a

: something that impedes, obstructs, or brings to a halt : impediment, obstacle

b

: the aperture of a camera lens

also : a marking of a series (as of f-numbers) on a camera for indicating settings of the diaphragm

c

: a drain plug : stopper

4

: a device for arresting or limiting motion

5

: the act of stopping : the state of being stopped : check

Their bikes came/slowed/skidded to a stop.

She brought the car to a stop.

6

a

: a halt in a journey : stay

made a brief stop to refuel

b

: a stopping place

a bus stop

7

a

chiefly British : any of several punctuation marks

b

—used in telegrams and cables to indicate a period

c

: a pause or break in a verse that marks the end of a grammatical unit

8

a

: an order stopping payment (as of a check or note) by a bank

b

: stop order

9

: a consonant characterized by complete closure of the breath passage in the course of articulation compare continuant

10

: a depression in the face of an animal at the junction of forehead and muzzle

11

: a function of an electronic device that stops a recording

stop

3 of 4

adjective

: serving to stop : designed to stop

stop line

stop signal

stop short

4 of 4

phrase

: to stop or be stopped just before doing or reaching something

I had to slam on the brakes when the car in front of me stopped short.

He was about to say something, then stopped short.

—often + of

The boss said that she was unhappy with some employees, but she stopped short of naming which ones.

The running back was stopped short of the goal line.

Synonyms of stop

Verb

• cease
• halt
• end
• quit

Noun

• break
• pause
• rest

Choose the Right Synonym for stop

stop, cease, quit, discontinue, desist mean to suspend or cause to suspend activity.

stop applies to action or progress or to what is operating or progressing and may imply suddenness or definiteness.

stopped at the red light

cease applies to states, conditions, or existence and may add a suggestion of gradualness and a degree of finality.

by nightfall the fighting had ceased

quit may stress either finality or abruptness in stopping or ceasing.

the engine faltered, sputtered, then quit altogether

discontinue applies to the stopping of an accustomed activity or practice.

we have discontinued the manufacture of that item

desist implies forbearance or restraint as a motive for stopping or ceasing.

desisted from further efforts to persuade them

Examples of stop in a Sentence

Verb

She was walking toward me, and then she suddenly stopped.

The bus stopped at the corner.

He stopped to watch the sun set.

He stopped to pick up a penny.

The car was going so fast that it couldn't stop in time.

The traffic light turned red, so she had to stop.

Stop that man! He stole my wallet.

They stopped us at the border to check our passports.

She stopped the car and turned back.

He was stopped by the police for speeding.

Noun

His first stop will be Washington, D.C.

Our first stop has to be the gas station.

I need to make a stop at the grocery store on the way home.

The next stop is Main Street and Tower Square.

I'm getting off at the next stop.

Slow down as you approach the stop.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The seven-week-old puppies were passed out asleep after a long, hard day of being dogs, but that didn’t stop people from getting their hands on them. —Kansas City Star, 12 June 2026

Iranian military forces stopped a tanker from transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced would be closed yesterday, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency. —Sarah Dean, NBC news, 12 June 2026

Noun

In fact, the Sacramento Bee made a recent stop at Camden Spit and Larder to revisit their California take on British cuisine. —Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2026

Michael Jordan eventually put a stop to that by scoring 55 points in Game 4 to lead the eventual champion Bulls to the victory on their home floor. —Brian Mahoney, Twin Cities, 10 June 2026

Adjective

Including the first non-stop flights from the US to Greenland and Marrakech, Morocco. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 June 2026

The evil force of Skeletor (Jared Leto), a bad bad man with no face, brings his minions in and sets off non-stop destruction. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 2 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English stoppen, from Old English -stoppian, from Vulgar Latin *stuppare to stop with tow, from Latin stuppa tow, from Greek styppē

First Known Use

Verb

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

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1594, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing stop

• bring/put a stop to
• bring (something) to a stop
• bus stop
• click stop
• come to a stop
• crawl to a stop/standstill
• double-stop
• draw to a halt/stop
• fire-stop
• flag stop
• flue stop
• f-stop
• full stop
• glottal stop
• make a stop
• one-stop
• pipe stop
• pit stop
• put a stop to
• rest stop
• screech to a halt/stop
• short-stop
• stop-action
• stop-and-go
• stop at nothing
• stop bath
• stop by
• stop dead in one's tracks
• stop down
• stop/freeze in one's tracks
• stop-go
• stop in
• stop knob
• stop-motion
• stop off
• stop order
• stop out
• stop payment
• stop short
• stop sign
• stop (someone) in his/her tracks
• stop the rot
• stop to think
• stop up
• suction stop
• to a stop
• traffic stop
• truck stop
• whistle-stop

Rhymes for stop

• bop
• chop
• cop
• crop
• drop
• flop
• fop
• hop
• knop
• lop
• mop
• op

Kids Definition

stop

1 of 3 verb

ˈstäp 

stopped; stopping

1

: to close an opening by filling or blocking it : plug

nose stopped up by a cold

2

: restrain sense 1a, prevent

stopped me from going

3

: to interrupt or prevent from continuing or occurring : check

couldn't stop the noise

4

: to instruct one's bank not to pay

stop payment on a check

5

: to halt the movement or progress of

stop the car

6

: to change the pitch of (as a violin string) by pressing with the finger

7

a

: to bring action or operation to an end

the motor stopped

b

: to come to an end

sit down when the music stops

8

: to make a visit

stopping with friends for a week

stop

2 of 3 noun

1

: cessation, end

his father put a stop to the arguing

2

a

: a series of similar organ pipes that vary by pitch but have the same tone quality

b

: stop knob

—often used in phrases like pull out all the stops to suggest holding nothing back

3

: something that delays, blocks, or brings to a halt : impediment, obstacle

4

: a device for halting or limiting motion

the door was held open by a stop

5

: the act of stopping : the state of being stopped

the train was brought to a sudden stop

6

: a halt in a journey : stay

made a quick stop to refuel

7

: a stopping place

a bus stop

8

chiefly British : any of several punctuation marks

9

: a consonant in the uttering of which there is a step (as in the "p" of "apt" or the "g" of "tiger") when the breath passage is completely closed

10

: a function of an electronic device that stops a recording

stop

3 of 3 adjective

: serving to stop : designed to stop

stop line

stop signal

Legal Definition

stop

1 of 2 verb

stopped; stopping

transitive verb

1

: to cause to halt

stopped payment

2

: to subject to a legal stop

intransitive verb

: to cease activity or motion

stop

2 of 2 noun

: an act or instance of stopping

specifically : a temporary detention that constitutes a limited seizure of a person for the purpose of inquiry or investigation and that must be based on reasonable suspicion see also terry stop compare arrest