stable1
/ˈsteɪb(ə)l
/adjective (stabler, stablest)
1(Of an object or structure) not likely to give way or overturn; firmly fixed: specially designed dinghies that are very stable...
- All those recent results suggest a flexibility of the backbone conformational structure and several stable configurations are proposed and debated.
- It is very important to make sure the three legs are firmly locked into place and the whole structure is stable.
- Among the possible geometries, tetraplexes are very stable structures in which the four strands are held together via repetitive guanine tetrads.
Synonyms
firm, solid, steady, secure, fixed, strong, fast, stout, sturdy, safe, moored, anchored, stuck down, immovable, well built, well constructed, substantial
1.1(Of a patient or their medical condition) not deteriorating in health after an injury or operation: he is now in a stable condition in hospital...
- A 44-year-old man was seen because his generally stable and easily controlled hypertension had recently become labile.
- Martinez says his shoulder feels more stable, but after failing to make 30 starts in any of the previous three seasons, he offers no guarantees.
- By 1 August, six were still in hospital in a stable condition.
1.2Sane and sensible; not easily upset or disturbed: the officer concerned is mentally and emotionally stable...
- Let's just say that for me, now, the world is a somehow colder but far more reliable, sane, and stable place than it was before.
- Liberal societies are sane, tolerant, stable, pluralistic and therefore well behaved.
- And I felt completely trapped because I had to be sensible and responsible and stable.
Synonyms
well balanced, balanced, sound, mentally sound, of sound mind, sane, normal, right in the head, in possession of all one's faculties, able to think/reason clearly, lucid, clear-headed, rational, coherent, steady, reasonable, sensible, sober, down-to-earth, matter-of-fact, with both one's feet on the ground;
Latin compos mentis
informal all there
1.3Not likely to change or fail; firmly established: a stable relationship prices have remained relatively stable...
- If I need to prove myself to you, then I will: Scott and I have been in a stable relationship for six years - and legally married for the last year and a half.
- Furthermore, as Blackboard is an established, stable system, we experienced few, if any, technical difficulties.
- Vector lengths are short in lodgepole pine and red fir-western white pine forests indicating that these forest groups are compositionally stable.
Synonyms
secure, solid, strong, steady, firm, sure, steadfast, level, unwavering, unvarying, unfaltering, unfluctuating, unswerving;
established, long-lasting, long-lived, deep-rooted, well founded, well grounded, abiding, durable, enduring, lasting, constant, permanent, reliable, dependable, true
1.4Not liable to undergo chemical decomposition, radioactive decay, or other physical change: isocyanic acid reacts with amino groups to form a stable compound stable nuclei...
- Davy had developed a technique by which unusually stable compounds could be decomposed into their constituent elements.
- Eventually the matter is stable and no longer radioactive.
- Soy oil polymers must be heated to over 400°C before they degrade, making them more thermally stable than polyethylene or polystyrene.
Derivatives
stably
- Second, because researchers still have to learn how to safely and stably transform stem cells into specific cell types, say, pancreatic islet cells to treat diabetes.
- According to this thesis, there just aren't enough stably employed men in the ghetto for women to marry.
- Single nucleotide polymorphisms are stably inherited, highly abundant, and distributed throughout the genome.
Origin
Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French, from Latin stabilis, from the base of stare 'to stand'.
The French word estable, from which we get stable, could refer to a shelter for pigs as well as one for horses, and in English a stable originally housed any domestic animal. Stable meaning ‘firmly fixed’ is a quite different word, that goes back to Latin stare ‘to stand’. The saying shut (or lock) the stable door after the horse has bolted—take preventive measures too late, once the damage has already been done—dates back to medieval times, though until the late 19th century it specifically referred to horse-stealing and was used in the form shut the stable door after the steed is stolen, as in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Kidnapped (1886): ‘A guinea-piece…fell…into the sea…I now saw there must be a hole, and clapped my hand to the place…But this was to lock the stable door after the steed was stolen.’ See also constable
Rhymes
stable2
/ˈsteɪb(ə)l/noun
1A building set apart and adapted for keeping horses: the horse was led from its stable...
- They walked their horses back to the stables and then handed them off to the stable boys.
- The livery stables are near those particular hunting stables.
- In between looking after the horses, other duties included mucking out the stables.
1.1An establishment where racehorses are kept and trained: racing stables the horse make his debut for the Mick Naughton stable...
- By now, Miller was as well known around racecourses and training stables as on cricket fields.
- The pair have more than 80 years of working in racing stables.
- From there, he became a groom, then foreman of the racing stable, then assistant farm manager/trainer in Greenville, Georgia.
1.2The racehorses of a particular training establishment.She also oversees a small, select barn of clientele in her training stable....
- All of this was built for wealthy bachelor Edmund Bowman who had his own private training track and stable, a pack of foxhounds and on his own cricket ground entertained the English cricketers.
- Marzato's stable will be based at a private training center in Bangholme, a southeastern suburb of Melbourne.
1.3An organization or establishment training or producing a particular type of person or product: the player comes from the same stable as Agassi...
- There are many cases where one model from a given automaker is outstanding when it comes to instrumentation and yet another product from the same stable can be less than ideal.
- Diageo, on the other hand, plans to add the product to its own stable.
- Curious heads walked into the campus to check out what was to unfold from the stables of the School of Commerce and International Business.
verb [with object]
1Put or keep (a horse) in a stable: they must be stabled and fed...
- With time running down, the commission said management must develop alternative plans for stabling horses, including opening talks with Delaware Park, if Laurel is unready for training.
- An estimated 150 to 160 horses were stabled at Ellis Park when the tornado hit.
- Horses are stabled at the North Dakota State University equine science barn during race meets.
1.1Put or base (a train) in a depot: one of the two locomotives stabled at Fort William...
- Trains will also be stabled at the depot overnight with the capability to service up to nine three-car trains each evening.
- Ten years later, in July 1949, the royal train was stabled in the old station prior to returning Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh to London.
- Trains will be stabled using sidings at both Shenfield and Gidea Park.
Phrases
shut (or bolt) the stable door after the horse has bolted
Derivatives
stableful
- Once again we inherited a stableful of horses and rode out every morning before work.
- Even though a family may own a stableful of cars and employ a herd of chauffeurs, kids walk to their school every day.
- Afterwards the Barnetts moved to Los Angeles, acquired a fine house, and Crazy Jack kept a stableful of Indian ponies.
Origin
Middle English: shortening of Old French estable 'stable, pigsty', from Latin stabulum, from the base of stare 'to stand'.