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stop

American  
[stop] / stɒp /

verb (used with object)

stops, present (3rd person singular) stopped, past participle, past stopt, past participle, past stopping present participle
  1. to cease from, leave off, or discontinue.

    to stop running.

    Antonyms:
    start
  2. to cause to cease; put an end to.

    to stop noise in the street.

    Antonyms:
    start
  3. to interrupt, arrest, or check (a course, proceeding, process, etc.).

    Stop your work just a minute.

    Antonyms:
    start
  4. to cut off, intercept, or withhold.

    to stop supplies.

  5. to restrain, hinder, or prevent (usually followed byfrom ).

    I couldn't stop him from going.

    Synonyms:
    impede, obstruct, thwart
  6. to prevent from proceeding, acting, operating, continuing, etc..

    to stop a speaker; to stop a car.

  7. to block, obstruct, or close (a passageway, channel, opening, duct, etc.) (usually followed byup ).

    He stopped up the sink with a paper towel. He stopped the hole in the tire with a patch.

  8. to fill the hole or holes in (a wall, a decayed tooth, etc.).

  9. to close (a container, tube, etc.) with a cork, plug, bung, or the like.

  10. to close the external orifice of (the ears, nose, mouth, etc.).

  11. Sports.

    1. to check (a stroke, blow, etc.); parry; ward off.

    2. to defeat (an opposing player or team).

      The Browns stopped the Colts.

    3. Boxing. to defeat by a knockout or technical knockout.

      Louis stopped Conn in the 13th round.

  12. Banking. to notify a bank to refuse payment of (a check) upon presentation.

  13. Bridge. to have an honor card and a sufficient number of protecting cards to keep an opponent from continuing to win in (a suit).

  14. Music.

    1. to close (a fingerhole) in order to produce a particular note from a wind instrument.

    2. to press down (a string of a violin, viola, etc.) in order to alter the pitch of the tone produced from it.

    3. to produce (a particular note) by so doing.


verb (used without object)

stops, present (3rd person singular) stopped, past participle, past stopt, past participle, past stopping present participle
  1. to come to a stand, as in a course or journey; halt.

  2. to cease moving, proceeding, speaking, acting, operating, etc.; to pause; desist.

    Synonyms:
    quit
  3. to cease; come to an end.

  4. to halt for a brief visit (often followed by at, in, orby ).

    He is stopping at the best hotel in town.

  5. stop by, to make a brief visit on one's way elsewhere.

    I'll stop by on my way home.

noun

stops plural
  1. the act of stopping.

  2. a cessation or arrest of movement, action, operation, etc.; end.

    The noise came to a stop. Put a stop to that behavior!

    Synonyms:
    termination, halt
  3. a stay or sojourn made at a place, as in the course of a journey.

    Above all, he enjoyed his stop in Trieste.

  4. a place where trains or other vehicles halt to take on and discharge passengers.

    Is this a bus stop?

    Synonyms:
    terminal
  5. a closing or filling up, as of a hole.

  6. a blocking or obstructing, as of a passage or channel.

  7. a plug or other stopper for an opening.

  8. an obstacle, impediment, or hindrance.

  9. any piece or device that serves to check or control movement or action in a mechanism.

    Synonyms:
    governor
  10. Architecture. a feature terminating a molding or chamfer.

  11. Commerce.

    1. an order to refuse payment of a check.

    2. stop order.

  12. Music.

    1. the act of closing a fingerhole or pressing a string of an instrument in order to produce a particular note.

    2. a device or contrivance, as on an instrument, for accomplishing this.

    3. (in an organ) a graduated set of pipes of the same kind and giving tones of the same quality.

    4. Also called stop knob.  a knob or handle that is drawn out or pushed back to permit or prevent the sounding of such a set of pipes or to control some other part of the organ.

    5. (in a reed organ) a group of reeds functioning like a pipe-organ stop.

  13. Sports. an individual defensive play or act that prevents an opponent or opposing team from scoring, advancing, or gaining an advantage, as a catch in baseball, a tackle in football, or the deflection of a shot in hockey.

  14. Nautical. a piece of small line used to lash or fasten something, as a furled sail.

  15. Phonetics.

    1. an articulation that interrupts the flow of air from the lungs.

    2. a consonant sound characterized by stop articulation, as p, b, t, d, k, and g.

  16. Photography. the diaphragm opening of a lens, especially as indicated by an f- number.

  17. Building Trades.

    1. stop bead.

    2. doorstop.

  18. any of various marks used as punctuation at the end of a sentence, especially a period.

  19. the word “stop” printed in the body of a telegram or cablegram to indicate a period.

  20. (used with a singular verb) stops, a family of card games whose object is to play all of one's cards in a predetermined sequence before one's opponents.

  21. Zoology. a depression in the face of certain animals, especially dogs, marking the division between the forehead and the projecting part of the muzzle.

verb phrase

  1. stop down (on a camera) to reduce (the diaphragm opening of a lens).

  2. stop in to make a brief, incidental visit.

    If you're in town, be sure to stop in.

  3. stop off to halt for a brief stay at some point on the way elsewhere.

    On the way to Rome we stopped off at Florence.

  4. stop over to stop briefly in the course of a journey.

    Many motorists were forced to stop over in that town because of floods.

  5. stop out

    1. to mask (certain areas of an etching plate, photographic negative, etc.) with varnish, paper, or the like, to prevent their being etched, printed, etc.

    2. to withdraw temporarily from school.

      Most of the students who stop out eventually return to get their degrees.

idioms

  1. pull out all the stops,

    1. to use every means available.

    2. to express, do, or carry out something without reservation.

stop British  
/ stɒp /

verb

  1. to cease from doing or being (something); discontinue

    stop talking

  2. to cause (something moving) to halt or (of something moving) to come to a halt

    to stop a car

    the car stopped

  3. (tr) to prevent the continuance or completion of

    to stop a show

  4. to prevent or restrain

    to stop George from fighting

  5. (tr) to keep back

    to stop supplies to the navy

  6. (tr) to intercept or hinder in transit

    to stop a letter

  7. to block or plug, esp so as to close

    to stop up a pipe

  8. to fill a hole or opening in

    to stop up a wall

  9. (tr) to staunch or stem

    to stop a wound

  10. (tr) to instruct a bank not to honour (a cheque)

  11. (tr) to deduct (money) from pay

  12. (tr) to provide with punctuation

  13. (tr) boxing to beat (an opponent) either by a knockout or a technical knockout

  14. informal (tr) to receive (a blow, hit, etc)

  15. (intr) to stay or rest

    we stopped at the Robinsons' for three nights

  16. rare (tr) to defeat, beat, or kill

  17. (tr) music

    1. to alter the vibrating length of (a string on a violin, guitar, etc) by pressing down on it at some point with the finger

    2. to alter the vibrating length of an air column in a wind instrument by closing (a finger hole, etc)

    3. to produce (a note) in this manner

  18. (tr) to place a hand inside (the bell of a French horn) to alter the tone colour and pitch or play (a note) on a French horn in such a manner

  19. bridge to have a protecting card or winner in (a suit in which one's opponents are strong)

  20. to be prepared to do anything; be unscrupulous or ruthless

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an arrest of movement or progress

  2. the act of stopping or the state of being stopped

  3. a place where something halts or pauses

    a bus stop

  4. a stay in or as if in the course of a journey

  5. the act or an instance of blocking or obstructing

  6. a plug or stopper

  7. a block, screw, or other device or object that prevents, limits, or terminates the motion of a mechanism or moving part

  8. a punctuation mark, esp a full stop

  9. Also called: stop thrustfencing a counterthrust made without a parry in the hope that one's blade will touch before one's opponent's blade

  10. short for stop payment stop order

  11. music

    1. the act of stopping the string, finger hole, etc, of an instrument

    2. a set of organ pipes or harpsichord strings that may be allowed to sound as a group by muffling or silencing all other such sets

    3. a knob, lever, or handle on an organ, etc, that is operated to allow sets of pipes to sound

    4. an analogous device on a harpsichord or other instrument with variable registers, such as an electrophonic instrument

    1. to play at full volume

    2. to spare no effort

  12. a stud on a football boot

  13. the angle between the forehead and muzzle of a dog or cat, regarded as a point in breeding

  14. nautical a short length of line or small stuff used as a tie, esp for a furled sail

  15. Also called: stop consonantphonetics any of a class of consonants articulated by first making a complete closure at some point of the vocal tract and then releasing it abruptly with audible plosion. Stops include the labials (p, b), the alveolars or dentals (t, d), the velars (k, g) Compare continuant

  16. Also called: f-stopphotog

    1. a setting of the aperture of a camera lens, calibrated to the corresponding f-number

    2. another name for diaphragm

  17. a block or carving used to complete the end of a moulding

  18. Also called: stopperbridge a protecting card or winner in a suit in which one's opponents are strong

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
stop More Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing stop


Synonym Usage

Stop, arrest, check, halt imply causing a cessation of movement or progress (literal or figurative). Stop is the general term for the idea: to stop a clock. Arrest usually refers to stopping by imposing a sudden and complete restraint: to arrest development. Check implies bringing about an abrupt, partial, or temporary stop: to check a trotting horse. To halt means to make a temporary stop, especially one resulting from a command: to halt a company of soldiers.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of stop

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb stoppen, stop(pe), Old English -stoppian; cognate with Dutch, Low German stoppen, German stopfen; all ultimately from Vulgar Latin stuppāre (unrecorded), “to plug with oakum,” derivative of Latin stuppa “coarse hemp or flax,” from Greek stýppē

Explanation

You know that red octagonal traffic sign that says STOP? It's telling you to stop moving and to stay put. You're familiar with stop as a word meaning "quit moving," but the word's original meaning is "to plug up a hole," like when you stop the hole in your bucket with oakum (or napkins). In English, stop came to mean "arrest" for any kind of movement. Stop crime! Stop that check! Stop that thief! Stop writing commands with stop! A stop can also be a place to rest, and the period at the end of this sentence is a "full stop."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing stop

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“Expanding access to rigorous coursework is one of the most impactful investments we can make in California students,” Sreeram said, reminding regents that “college readiness doesn’t stop at admission.”

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 23, 2026

But, two prison staffers told the BBC that governors were told to stop work on the implementation of the Sentencing Act two weeks ago.

From BBC Jul. 23, 2026

And instead of simply asking fishermen to stop, it has helped develop snail farming as an alternative livelihood.

From Barron's Jul. 23, 2026

That’s why the bipartisan U.S. consensus has been to stop the spread of the most dangerous processes and capabilities to enemies and allies.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 22, 2026

He clapped a paw over his mouth to stop from spewing it across the room.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

“What was lovely about that,” Morton begins and then stops, wondering if she should draw back the curtain on the creative process.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 23, 2026

These stops were carried out at Anfield – an average of 300 per home game – and at away games both in the Premier League and in Europe.

From BBC Jul. 22, 2026

Instead of waiting until the first treatment stops working, doctors could switch to a second therapy while the tumor is still responding.

From Science Daily Jul. 22, 2026

He simply declared the stops effective and ordered that they continue.

From Salon Jul. 21, 2026

He stops talking, closes his eyes, and breathes in, loud and slow, through his nose.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Over the last 15 years, the party has shifted and evolved for the Garden, but it’s never stopped.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 23, 2026

The constant chatter stopped when Burke was brought in.

From BBC Jul. 22, 2026

Armies stopped relying on knights in armor when they came up against gunpowder weapons.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 22, 2026

Mauritania, where the German delegation stopped Monday, "desperately needs it", she said, citing hundreds of thousands of refugees who have arrived from neighbouring Mali "because the situation in the Sahel is so dangerous".

From Barron's Jul. 22, 2026

Even the baroness stopped her pacing to watch.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Harriet was on the point of leaving the room, and only stopt to say, with a very interesting naïveté,

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

“Oh no! he had never written, hardly ever, any thing of the kind in his life. The stupidest fellow! He was afraid not even Miss Woodhouse”—he stopt a moment—“or Miss Smith could inspire him.”

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

I stopt in my tracks and looked agin and then I seed it was my brother Bill growed to look as old as pa looked a fue years back.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

When the Substance that was stopt passes into the Stomach, the Patient must immediately be put into a very mild and smooth Regimen.

From Advice to the people in general, with regard to their health by Tissot, S. A. D. (Samuel Auguste David)

The Super-purgation, the excessive Discharge, is to be stopt, after having plied the Patient plentifully with diluting Drinks, by giving the calming Anodyne Medicines directed in the Removal of acute Pains, § 536, Nº.

From Advice to the people in general, with regard to their health by Tissot, S. A. D. (Samuel Auguste David)

Agents could follow people and arrest them after they left their cars, he explained, while stopping people inside moving vehicles could place officers in greater danger.

From Salon Jul. 21, 2026

Health officials are searching for the path of a parasite that has sickened potentially thousands of people across more than 30 states and isn’t showing signs of stopping.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 14, 2026

He questioned why the department is now stopping use of the technology.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 12, 2026

They also do not justify stopping or changing antidepressant treatment without guidance from a prescribing clinician.

From Science Daily Jul. 12, 2026

The words came flying out of my mouth without stopping to ask permission from my brain.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

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