verb (used with object),stopped or (Archaic) stopt;stop·ping.
to cease from, leave off, or discontinue: to stop running.
to cause to cease; put an end to: to stop noise in the street.
to interrupt, arrest, or check (a course, proceeding, process, etc.): Stop your work just a minute.
to cut off, intercept, or withhold: to stop supplies.
to restrain, hinder, or prevent (usually followed by from): I couldn't stop him from going.
to prevent from proceeding, acting, operating, continuing, etc.: to stop a speaker; to stop a car.
to block, obstruct, or close (a passageway, channel, opening, duct, etc.) (usually followed by up): He stopped up the sink with a paper towel. He stopped the hole in the tire with a patch.
to fill the hole or holes in (a wall, a decayed tooth, etc.).
to close (a container, tube, etc.) with a cork, plug, bung, or the like.
to close the external orifice of (the ears, nose, mouth, etc.).
Sports.
to check (a stroke, blow, etc.); parry; ward off.
to defeat (an opposing player or team): The Browns stopped the Colts.
Boxing.to defeat by a knockout or technical knockout: Louis stopped Conn in the 13th round.
Banking. to notify a bank to refuse payment of (a check) upon presentation.
Bridge. to have an honor card and a sufficient number of protecting cards to keep an opponent from continuing to win in (a suit).
Music.
to close (a fingerhole) in order to produce a particular note from a wind instrument.
to press down (a string of a violin, viola, etc.) in order to alter the pitch of the tone produced from it.
to produce (a particular note) by so doing.
verb (used without object),stopped or (Archaic) stopt;stop·ping.
to come to a stand, as in a course or journey; halt.
to cease moving, proceeding, speaking, acting, operating, etc.; to pause; desist.
to cease; come to an end.
to halt for a brief visit (often followed by at, in, or by): He is stopping at the best hotel in town.
stop by,to make a brief visit on one's way elsewhere: I'll stop by on my way home.
noun
the act of stopping.
a cessation or arrest of movement, action, operation, etc.; end: The noise came to a stop. Put a stop to that behavior!
a stay or sojourn made at a place, as in the course of a journey: Above all, he enjoyed his stop in Trieste.
a place where trains or other vehicles halt to take on and discharge passengers: Is this a bus stop?
a closing or filling up, as of a hole.
a blocking or obstructing, as of a passage or channel.
a plug or other stopper for an opening.
an obstacle, impediment, or hindrance.
any piece or device that serves to check or control movement or action in a mechanism.
Architecture. a feature terminating a molding or chamfer.
Commerce.
an order to refuse payment of a check.
stop order.
Music.
the act of closing a fingerhole or pressing a string of an instrument in order to produce a particular note.
a device or contrivance, as on an instrument, for accomplishing this.
(in an organ) a graduated set of pipes of the same kind and giving tones of the same quality.
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.
(in a reed organ) a group of reeds functioning like a pipe-organ stop.
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.
Nautical. a piece of small line used to lash or fasten something, as a furled sail.
Phonetics.
an articulation that interrupts the flow of air from the lungs.
a consonant sound characterized by stop articulation, as p, b, t, d, k, and g.Compare continuant.
Photography. the diaphragm opening of a lens, especially as indicated by an f- number.
Building Trades.
stop bead.
doorstop (def. 2).
any of various marks used as punctuation at the end of a sentence, especially a period.
the word “stop” printed in the body of a telegram or cablegram to indicate a period.
stops, (used with a singular verb) a family of card games whose object is to play all of one's cards in a predetermined sequence before one's opponents.
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 Phrases
stop down,Photography. (on a camera) to reduce (the diaphragm opening of a lens).
stop in,to make a brief, incidental visit: If you're in town, be sure to stop in.
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.
stop out,
to mask (certain areas of an etching plate, photographic negative, etc.) with varnish, paper, or the like, to prevent their being etched, printed, etc.
to withdraw temporarily from school: Most of the students who stop out eventually return to get their degrees.
stop over,to stop briefly in the course of a journey: Many motorists were forced to stop over in that town because of floods.
Idioms for stop
pull out all the stops,
to use every means available.
to express, do, or carry out something without reservation.
Origin of stop
before 1000; Middle English stoppen (v.), Old English -stoppian (in forstoppian to stop up); cognate with Dutch, Low German stoppen,German stopfen; all ≪ Vulgar Latin *stuppāre to plug with oakum, derivative of Latin stuppa coarse hemp or flax <Greek stýppē
SYNONYMS FOR stop
5 thwart, obstruct, impede.
16 quit.
21 halt; termination.
23 terminal.
28 governor.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR stop ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR stop
1-3 start.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR stop ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for stop
3. 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.
Now I have a plausible explanation for how I feel, putting a stop to some of the second-guessing going on in my head.
Everything You Need to Know About Period Tracking|Christine Yu|September 6, 2020|Outside Online
It seems like he’s going to continue to do this until someone puts a stop to it.
“People want to believe”: How Love Fraud builds an absorbing docuseries around a romantic con man|Alissa Wilkinson|September 4, 2020|Vox
That promise was enough to quell a few lawsuits filed by California groups against the federal government for failing to put a stop to the sewage-filled stormwater rolling from Mexico’s hills.
Morning Report: Why COVID-19 Has Hit Latinos So Hard|Voice of San Diego|August 13, 2020|Voice of San Diego
The agency issued a stop sale, use or removal order, which is supposed to prevent the company from selling its product.
Environment Report: One Way to Force Companies to Emit Less Carbon|MacKenzie Elmer|August 10, 2020|Voice of San Diego
The chair of the Uptown Community Parking District board proposed using the funds for cleaning bus stops, but the city said no.
Morning Report: 3 Body Cameras, No Footage|Voice of San Diego|July 22, 2020|Voice of San Diego
But I think Steve Austin has to team up with a Japanese holdout to stop a nuclear bomb from going off or something.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That ground hold was to stop you flying through weather that could kill you and everyone else aboard.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501|Clive Irving|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Thankfully there were no casualties—the driver managed to stop the train immediately.
Is Putin Turning to Terrorism in Ukraine?|Anna Nemtsova|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The men were accused of reneging on pledges to stop working for the Iraqi government.
ISIS’s Futile Quest to Go Legit|Jamie Dettmer|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Has L.A. figured out how to stop the epidemic it set loose on the world?
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Dec 29-Jan 4, 2014|William Boot|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
They stop overnight in these little youth inns—hotels made especially for boys and girls.
Mitz and Fritz of Germany|Madeline Brandeis
"Nothing seems to stop them," said many soldiers with whom I spoke.
The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915|Various
We stop the night at Henzada, and dine on deck, shut off from the night by a glass partition.
From Edinburgh to India & Burmah|William G. Burn Murdoch
There may be among my readers some who will read the early chapters and will then stop.
The Hearts of Men|H. Fielding
I'll have my young lady out to stop the duel, and, God's love, she'll come alone.
The Trail of the Sword, Complete|Gilbert Parker
British Dictionary definitions for stop
stop
/ (stɒp) /
verbstops, stoppingorstopped
to cease from doing or being (something); discontinuestop talking
to cause (something moving) to halt or (of something moving) to come to a haltto stop a car; the car stopped
(tr)to prevent the continuance or completion ofto stop a show
(tr often foll by from) to prevent or restrainto stop George from fighting
(tr)to keep backto stop supplies to the navy
(tr)to intercept or hinder in transitto stop a letter
(tr often foll by up) to block or plug, esp so as to closeto stop up a pipe
(tr often foll by up) to fill a hole or opening into stop up a wall
(tr)to staunch or stemto stop a wound
(tr)to instruct a bank not to honour (a cheque)
(tr)to deduct (money) from pay
(tr)Britishto provide with punctuation
(tr)boxingto beat (an opponent) either by a knockout or a technical knockout
(tr)informalto receive (a blow, hit, etc)
(intr)to stay or restwe stopped at the Robinsons' for three nights
(tr)rareto defeat, beat, or kill
(tr)music
to alter the vibrating length of (a string on a violin, guitar, etc) by pressing down on it at some point with the finger
to alter the vibrating length of an air column in a wind instrument by closing (a finger hole, etc)
to produce (a note) in this manner
(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
bridgeto have a protecting card or winner in (a suit in which one's opponents are strong)
stop at nothingto be prepared to do anything; be unscrupulous or ruthless
noun
an arrest of movement or progress
the act of stopping or the state of being stopped
a place where something halts or pausesa bus stop
a stay in or as if in the course of a journey
the act or an instance of blocking or obstructing
a plug or stopper
a block, screw, or other device or object that prevents, limits, or terminates the motion of a mechanism or moving part
Britisha punctuation mark, esp a full stop
Also called: stop thrustfencinga counterthrust made without a parry in the hope that one's blade will touch before one's opponent's blade
short for stop payment, stop order
music
the act of stopping the string, finger hole, etc, of an instrument
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
a knob, lever, or handle on an organ, etc, that is operated to allow sets of pipes to sound
an analogous device on a harpsichord or other instrument with variable registers, such as an electrophonic instrument
pull out all the stops
to play at full volume
to spare no effort
Australiana stud on a football boot
the angle between the forehead and muzzle of a dog or cat, regarded as a point in breeding
nauticala short length of line or small stuff used as a tie, esp for a furled sail
Also called: stop consonantphoneticsany 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
Also called: f-stopphotog
a setting of the aperture of a camera lens, calibrated to the corresponding f-number
another name for diaphragm (def. 4)
a block or carving used to complete the end of a moulding
Also called: stopperbridgea protecting card or winner in a suit in which one's opponents are strong
See also stop down, stop off, stop out, stopover, stops
Derived forms of stop
stoppable, adjective
Word Origin for stop
C14: from Old English stoppian (unattested), as in forstoppian to plug the ear, ultimately from Late Latin stuppāre to stop with a tow, from Latin stuppa tow, from Greek stuppē