# stall

Pronunciation: say "STAWL" US /stɔl/, UK /stɔːl/

## Noun

1. A small open-fronted shop, such as one set up in a market or food court.
   - Simple: A small open shop in a market or food court that sells goods.
   - _The flower stall on the corner opens before dawn each day._
   - _Tourists crowded around a stall selling handmade leather goods._
2. A compartment in a stable or cattle shed that holds a single animal.
   - Simple: A small space in a barn where one animal is kept.
   - _She mucked out every stall before the morning feed._
   - _The new foal was moved into a wider stall._
3. A tiny enclosed compartment containing a shower or a toilet.
   - Simple: A very small room with a shower or toilet inside.
   - _Only one stall in the restroom was working._
   - _Steam filled the shower stall after his long run._
7. An action meant to cause delay, or one that has that effect.
   - Simple: Something you do to slow things down or hold them up.
   - _Her request for more documents was clearly a stall._
   - _The endless points of order amounted to a stall._
10. A bench or table on which small items of merchandise are displayed for sale.
   - Simple: A table or bench where small goods are laid out to be sold.
   - _She spread the secondhand books out on her stall._
   - _Spices were heaped in bowls along the trader's stall._
11. The loss of lift that occurs when an airfoil exceeds its critical angle of attack, usually because of low airspeed.
   - Simple: A loss of lift that happens when a wing tilts too steeply, often because the plane is flying too slowly.
   - _The instructor demonstrated a stall at a safe altitude._
   - _Sensors warn the crew before the wing reaches a stall._
12. A theater seat close to and roughly level with the stage; traditionally one with arms or partly enclosed, unlike the open benches.
   - Simple: A theater seat near the stage, often one with arms.
   - _She preferred a stall to a balcony seat for the opera._
   - _The critic settled into his stall just as the curtain rose._
13. A marked space for a single vehicle in a parking lot or parking garage. *(Canada)*
   - Simple: A marked space where one car can park in a lot or garage.
   - _The wider stall at the end makes loading groceries easier._
   - _He backed his truck carefully into the narrow stall._
18. A seat in a church, especially one beside the chancel or choir, set aside for clergy and dignitaries.
   - Simple: A special seat in a church, near the front, kept for priests or important people.
   - _Each canon occupied his own stall during the evening service._
   - _The choir stalls were elaborately carved with scenes from scripture._
19. A stable, or a sheltered compartment within one, used as a place for keeping cattle or other livestock.
   - Simple: A barn or shed where cattle and other animals are kept.
   - _The farmer mucked out the stall before bringing the cows in._
   - _Fresh straw lined the stalls in the dairy barn._
20. A protective sheath worn over a single finger to shield it from injury or infection.
   - Simple: A small cover that fits over a finger to protect it.
   - _After the operation, he wore a stall to keep the dressing clean._
   - _Cobblers sometimes use a leather stall to guard the thumb while stitching._
21. A church office whose holder is entitled to use a stall in the choir or chancel.
   - Simple: A church position that gives its holder the right to use a church seat.
   - _The new appointment came with a stall and a modest annual stipend._
   - _He resigned his stall when he was promoted to a bishopric._
24. The open space left by excavation between the pillars of rock that support a mine roof.
   - Simple: In mining, the open space left between the rock pillars that hold up the roof.
   - _The team advanced the stall another ten feet before reinforcing the roof._
   - _Old maps marked each stall and pillar throughout the worked-out seam._
28. An indoor Heathen altar, as distinguished from the larger outdoor altar known as a harrow.
   - Simple: In modern Heathen worship, an indoor altar used for religious offerings.
   - _Before the rite, she arranged offerings on the stall._
   - _Many Heathens maintain a stall indoors and a harrow in the yard._

## Verb

4. To come to a halt or standstill.
   - Simple: To stop moving or making progress.
   - _The talks stall whenever the subject of money comes up._
   - _Reform efforts stalled after the leadership changed._
5. To use delaying tactics in order to gain time.
   - Simple: To act slowly on purpose so you get more time.
   - _Defendants may stall until a key witness is unavailable._
   - _He stalled by pretending not to understand the question._
6. To cause a manual car or truck's engine to stop by going too slowly for the gear you have selected.
   - Simple: To make a car's engine stop by driving too slowly in a gear that is too high.
   - _She stalled the truck twice before getting it moving._
   - _Letting the clutch out too fast will stall the engine._
8. To cause something to stop making progress; to hinder, slow, delay, or forestall it.
   - Simple: To stop something from moving forward or making progress.
   - _Legal challenges stalled the merger for over a year._
   - _Disagreements among the partners stall every major decision._
9. To use delaying tactics against someone.
   - Simple: To keep someone waiting on purpose so you gain more time.
   - _The official stalled the inspectors until closing time._
   - _They tried to stall the auditors with paperwork._
14. Of an aircraft or wing, to lose lift because the critical angle of attack has been exceeded.
   - Simple: To lose lift when a wing's angle becomes too steep or the plane flies too slowly.
   - _The wing stalled as the pilot pulled the nose up sharply._
   - _Pilots practice what to do when a wing begins to stall at too steep an angle._
15. To come to a sudden stop.
   - Simple: To stop all at once.
   - _The elevator stalled between two floors and the lights flickered._
   - _Heavy machines can stall the instant a belt jams._
16. To make an aircraft lose lift by forcing its wings past the angle at which air still flows smoothly over them.
   - Simple: To make a plane lose its lift by tilting the wings too steeply into the air.
   - _The pilot stalled the jet deliberately during the safety demonstration._
   - _Pulling back too sharply will stall the wing and send the plane into a sudden descent._
17. To place an animal in a stall, the small enclosed section of a barn.
   - Simple: To put a horse or other animal into a small closed space in a barn.
   - _The groom stalled each racehorse after the morning workout._
   - _Before the blizzard, ranchers stall their cattle to keep them warm._
22. To induct someone into an office with the customary ceremony; to install.
   - Simple: To formally place someone in an official position.
   - _The bishop stalled the canon before the assembled congregation._
   - _They stall each new prebendary in a centuries-old rite._
23. To drive a vehicle or animal into mire or snow so that it sticks fast and cannot move on.
   - Simple: To get an animal or vehicle stuck in mud or snow so it cannot move on.
   - _A careless teamster can stall a loaded wagon in the bog at the river crossing._
   - _Two of the sled dogs were stalled in a drift nearly up to their shoulders._
25. To make an animal fat, especially by feeding it generously while it is kept in a stall.
   - Simple: To feed an animal well in a barn so that it grows fat.
   - _The grazier stalled the cattle through winter to ready them for the spring sale._
   - _Breeders stall their best steers on a rich diet._
26. To forestall something; to act in advance so as to prevent or anticipate it.
   - Simple: To act first so as to stop something from happening.
   - _The treaty stalled a war that both sides had thought inevitable._
   - _Merchants would stall a shortage by buying up grain early._
27. To keep something close and secret, holding it to oneself rather than revealing it to others.
   - Simple: To keep something secret and hidden, not telling it to other people.

## Verb

29. To be housed in a stall or in something like one; to dwell. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To live in a place or make your home there.
30. To become stuck fast, as in mire or snow, so as to be unable to move on. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To get stuck and be unable to move on, as in mud or snow.
   - _The oxen stalled in the bog and could go no further._
   - _Heavy coaches would stall on the flooded road each winter._

## Other meanings

- (verb) Of cattle, to become fed up with food and lose the urge to eat.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 10, 12–13, 17–22, 24–29** — From Middle English stall, from Old English steall ("standing place, position"), which traces back through Proto-Germanic *stallaz to the Proto-Indo-European root *stel- ("to place, put, stand"). It is related to French étal, German Stall, and Swedish stall.
**Meanings 4–9, 11, 14–16, 23, 30** — From Middle English stallen ("to abide, dwell, stop, come to a standstill"), partly from Old French estaler, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1, and partly from Middle English stalle ("fixed position, stall").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/stall (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).