STALL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does stall mean? 

• STALL (noun)
  The noun STALL has 7 senses:

1. a compartment in a stable where a single animal is confined and fed

2. small area set off by walls for special use

3. a booth where articles are displayed for sale

4. a malfunction in the flight of an aircraft in which there is a sudden loss of lift that results in a downward plunge

5. seating in the forward part of the main level of a theater

6. small individual study area in a library

7. a tactic used to mislead or delay

  Familiarity information: STALL used as a noun is common.

• STALL (verb)
  The verb STALL has 7 senses:

1. postpone doing what one should be doing

2. come to a stop

3. deliberately delay an event or action

4. put into, or keep in, a stall

5. experience a stall in flight, of airplanes

6. cause an airplane to go into a stall

7. cause an engine to stop

  Familiarity information: STALL used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STALL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A compartment in a stable where a single animal is confined and fed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("stall" is a kind of...):

compartment (a partitioned section, chamber, or separate room within a larger enclosed area)

Holonyms ("stall" is a part of...):

horse barn; stable; stalls (a farm building for housing horses or other livestock)

Derivation:

stall (put into, or keep in, a stall)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Small area set off by walls for special use

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

booth; cubicle; kiosk; stall

Hypernyms ("stall" is a kind of...):

closet (a small private room for study or prayer)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stall"):

confessional (a booth where a priest sits to hear confessions)

polling booth (a temporary booth in a polling place which people enter to cast their votes)

prompt box; prompter's box (a booth projecting above the floor in the front of a stage where the prompter sits; opens toward the performers on stage)

shower bath; shower stall (booth for washing yourself, usually in a bathroom)

call box; phone booth; telephone booth; telephone box; telephone kiosk (booth for using a telephone)

tolbooth; tollbooth; tollhouse (a booth at a tollgate where the toll collector collects tolls)

voting booth (a booth in which a person can cast a private vote)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A booth where articles are displayed for sale

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

sales booth; stall; stand

Hypernyms ("stall" is a kind of...):

booth (a small shop at a fair; for selling goods or entertainment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stall"):

coffee stall (a stand (usually movable) selling hot coffee and food (especially at night))

newsstand (a stall where newspapers and other periodicals are sold)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A malfunction in the flight of an aircraft in which there is a sudden loss of lift that results in a downward plunge

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Context example:

the plane went into a stall and I couldn't control it

Hypernyms ("stall" is a kind of...):

malfunction (a failure to function normally)

Derivation:

stall (come to a stop)

stall (cause an airplane to go into a stall)

stall (experience a stall in flight, of airplanes)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Seating in the forward part of the main level of a theater

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("stall" is a kind of...):

seating; seating area; seating room; seats (an area that includes places where several people can sit)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Small individual study area in a library

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

carrel; carrell; cubicle; stall

Hypernyms ("stall" is a kind of...):

alcove; bay (a small recess opening off a larger room)

Holonyms ("stall" is a part of...):

depository library; library (a depository built to contain books and other materials for reading and study)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A tactic used to mislead or delay

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

stall; stalling

Hypernyms ("stall" is a kind of...):

obstruction (the act of obstructing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stall"):

stonewalling (stalling or delaying especially by refusing to answer questions or cooperate)

Derivation:

stall (deliberately delay an event or action)

stall (postpone doing what one should be doing)

• STALL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they stall    ... he / she / it stalls   
Past simple: stalled   
Past participle: stalled   
-ing form: stalling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Postpone doing what one should be doing

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

dilly-dally; dillydally; drag one's feet; drag one's heels; procrastinate; shillyshally; stall

Context example:

He did not want to write the letter and procrastinated for days

Hypernyms (to "stall" is one way to...):

delay (act later than planned, scheduled, or required)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stall"):

procrastinate (postpone or delay needlessly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

They stall a long time

Derivation:

stall (a tactic used to mislead or delay)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Come to a stop

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

conk; stall

Context example:

The car stalled in the driveway

Hypernyms (to "stall" is one way to...):

halt; stop (come to a halt, stop moving)

Domain category:

driving (the act of controlling and steering the movement of a vehicle or animal)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

stall (a malfunction in the flight of an aircraft in which there is a sudden loss of lift that results in a downward plunge)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Deliberately delay an event or action

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

she doesn't want to write the report, so she is stalling

Hypernyms (to "stall" is one way to...):

delay; detain; hold up (cause to be slowed down or delayed)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

stall; stalling (a tactic used to mislead or delay)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Put into, or keep in, a stall

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

Stall the horse

Hypernyms (to "stall" is one way to...):

shelter (provide shelter for)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

stall (a compartment in a stable where a single animal is confined and fed)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Experience a stall in flight, of airplanes

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "stall" is one way to...):

halt; stop (come to a halt, stop moving)

Domain category:

air; air travel; aviation (travel via aircraft)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

stall (a malfunction in the flight of an aircraft in which there is a sudden loss of lift that results in a downward plunge)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Cause an airplane to go into a stall

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "stall" is one way to...):

stop (cause to stop)

Domain category:

air; air travel; aviation (travel via aircraft)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

stall (a malfunction in the flight of an aircraft in which there is a sudden loss of lift that results in a downward plunge)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Cause an engine to stop

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The inexperienced driver kept stalling the car

Hypernyms (to "stall" is one way to...):

stop (cause to stop)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

It releases ribosomes stalled at the 3' end of a mRNA and stimulates the exosome to rapidly degrade the transcript.

(Non-Stop Decay, NCI Thesaurus)

That was ill done, Hans, you should have led the calf, and put it in the stall.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Well, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“From a stall, Aylward?” asked one of the young archers.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The persistent stall in autophagy means the nerve cells are unable to 'clean' the brain and this results in a build up of toxins.

(New Mechanisms Found of Cell Death in Neurodegenerative Disorders, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

And I wondered if she, too, felt it, as we walked along the deck side by side to where the stalled foremast hung in the shears.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The door was open; inside, huddled together upon a chair, Hunter was sunk in a state of absolute stupor, the favourite’s stall was empty, and there were no signs of his trainer.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Well has Solomon said—"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith."

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The groom was away, and I had to send a lad in search of him, while with the help of the livery-man I dragged the curricle from the coach-house and brought the two mares out of their stalls.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Grant, through an interest on which he had almost ceased to form hopes, succeeded to a stall in Westminster, which, as affording an occasion for leaving Mansfield, an excuse for residence in London, and an increase of income to answer the expenses of the change, was highly acceptable to those who went and those who staid.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)