stay1
/steɪ
/verb
1 [no object, usually with adverbial] Remain in the same place: you stay here and I’ll be back soon Jenny decided to stay at home with their young child he stayed with the firm as a consultant...
- Maddie, at the last minute, decided to stay behind and finish some work on deadline.
- The gig was so successful the band decided to stay together, and since then Wards Xpress has released three albums.
- This year they've decided to stay in their village because it just isn't safe to leave their home and head for Baghdad.
1.1 (stay for/to) Delay leaving so as to join in (an activity): why not stay to lunch?...
- It is expected she will stay to join members for lunch.
- It comes for lunch, stays for dinner, and sleeps on your couch overnight.
- I stayed for lunch and then another mug of tea in the sun.
2 [no object, with complement or adverbial] Remain in a specified state or position: her ability to stay calm tactics used to stay in power I managed to stay out of trouble...
- How he manages to stay so calm and hold off his anger for so long is beyond me.
- At least he has managed to stay positive about things, and he has told us he will aim for the next World Cup.
- All the big powers have managed to stay at peace so I suppose it achieved something.
Synonyms
remain (behind), stay behind, stay put;
wait, wait around, linger, stick, continue, be left, hold on, hang on, lodge, rest, delay, pause, stop
informal hang around/round
British informal hang about
archaic bide, tarry
continue to be, remain, keep, continue, persist in being, carry on being, go on being, rest
3 [no object] (Of a person) live somewhere temporarily as a visitor or guest: the girls had gone to stay with friends Minton invited him to stay the night...
- Call your house and tell them you're staying at a friend's house because you don't want to drive home and stay the night with me.
- I usually stayed in the guest room with Terry during those days.
- I'll pay for your round-trip ticket and you can stay in the guest room at my house.
Synonyms
visit;
spend some time, put up, stop, stop off, stop over, break one's journey;
holiday;
lodge, room, board, have rooms, be housed, be accommodated, be quartered, be billeted;
take up residence, take a room, settle;
North American vacation
North American informal vacay
formal sojourn
archaic bide, abide
3.1Scottish & South African Live permanently: where do you stay?...
- Although most of the inhabitants stay in shacks, they clearly take pride in their environment.
4 [with object] Stop, delay, or prevent (something), in particular suspend or postpone (judicial proceedings) or refrain from pressing (charges): there are some cases the Crown feels so serious they don’t want to stay the charges...
- Does the English Court have Jurisdiction to stay the Part 20 Proceedings?
- A higher court stayed his acquittal and ordered him detained while the finding at trial was reconsidered.
- He subsequently applied to a judge of the Federal Court for an order staying the immigration inquiry pending the hearing of the judicial review.
Synonyms
postpone, put off, delay, defer, put back, hold over/off, carry over, reschedule, do later, shelve, stand over, pigeonhole, put/hold in abeyance, mothball;
adjourn, suspend, prorogue;
put off the evil day/hour;
North American put over, table, lay on the table, take a rain check on;
North American Law continue
informal put on ice, put on the back burner, put in cold storage
rare remit, respite
delay, slow down, slow up, hold back, set back, keep back, hold up, postpone, put back, detain, decelerate, put a brake on, retard;
hinder, hamper, obstruct, inhibit, impede, handicap, hamstring, curb, check, restrain, restrict, arrest, interfere with, interrupt, encumber, clog
British informal throw a spanner in the works of
North American informal throw a monkey wrench in the works of
rare trammel, cumber
4.1Assuage (hunger) for a short time: I grabbed something to stay the pangs of hunger
4.2 literary Curb; check: he tries to stay the destructive course of barbarism
4.3 [no object, in imperative] archaic Wait a moment in order to allow someone time to think or speak: stay, stand apart, I know not which is which
5 [with object] literary Support or prop up: it did not matter to you whether the building was stayed up or not?
noun
1A period of staying somewhere, in particular of living somewhere temporarily as a visitor or guest: an overnight stay at a luxury hotel...
- It would involve at most an overnight stay in hospital, he explained.
- Sligo also has one of the lowest average lengths of stay in hospital in the country at five days.
- What are your recipes for being a good guest, for weekend or overnight stays?
Synonyms
visit, stop, stop-off, stopover, break, holiday, rest;
North American vacation
formal sojourn
2 literary A curb or check: there is likely to be a good public library as a stay against boredom
2.1 Law A suspension or postponement of judicial proceedings: a stay of prosecution...
- I conclude that the trial judge erred in granting a stay of proceedings to each of the defendants.
- In my opinion, the application for a stay of proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria should be dismissed.
- The defence cited several cases involving extremely serious charges in which the appellate courts have ordered stays of proceedings because of delay.
Synonyms
postponement, putting off, delay, deferment, deferral, putting back, carrying over, rescheduling, shelving, pigeonholing, mothballing;
adjournment, suspension, prorogation;
North American tabling
3A device used as a brace or support.
3.1 (stays) historical A corset made of two pieces laced together and stiffened by strips of whalebone.The favourite shaping material of stays was whalebone, cut into thin strips and sewn in a fan pattern to make the torso appear rounder....
- Products made from the animal were oil for lamps and candles whereas the bones were used for stays, corsets and collars.
- She ran as fast as her stays and petticoat would allow to that pond she could see so clearly in her mind.
4 [mass noun] archaic Power of endurance: some men are always great at beginnings; but they have no stay in them
Phrases
be here (or have come) to stay
stay the course (or distance)
stay of execution
stay put
stay well
Phrasal verbs
stay behind
stay on
stay over
stay up
stay with
Origin
Late Middle English (as a verb): from Anglo-Norman French estai-, stem of Old French ester, from Latin stare 'to stand'; in the sense 'support' (sense 5 of the verb and sense 3 of the noun), partly from Old French estaye (noun), estayer (verb), of Germanic origin.
stationer from Middle English:
In the Middle Ages stationers sold not stationery, writing materials but books. The word comes from medieval Latin stationarius, referring to a tradesman who had a shop or stall at a fixed location, as opposed to one who travelled around selling their wares. The ultimate source is Latin statio ‘standing’, which is also the root of stationary with an a, ‘not moving’ and station (Middle English). In medieval England selling parchment, paper, pens, and ink was a branch of the bookseller's trade, and in due course booksellers became known as stationers. Statue (Middle English) and related words come from the same Latin root as do stature (Middle English) which originally meant ‘height when standing’, status (late 18th century) ‘legal standing’, and statute (Middle English), a law that had been set up. The verb to stay (Late Middle English) is yet another word from the root. Staid (late 16th century) is an archaic past of stay, describing a character that is fixed in its ways.
Rhymes
stay2
/steɪ/noun
1A large rope, wire, or rod used to support a ship’s mast, leading from the masthead to another mast or spar or down to another part of the ship.A few minutes later I was shinning up the mast to whip a flag halyard to the stays....
- The mast will not come down until something else has broken because as long as all the stays and such are in place, the mast will stay.
Synonyms
strut, wire, brace, tether, prop, beam, rod, support, truss, buttress, pier, shaft, shore, stanchion, stake, stick, spike, post;
Nautical shroud
1.1A guy or rope supporting a flagstaff or other upright pole.The solid awning was supported by vertical stays....
- Britannia footbridge has been lifted into place and the cable stays are being fitted to support the bridge.
- The cable stays were then stressed to their final length.
1.2A supporting wire or cable on an aircraft.
verb [with object]
Secure or steady (a mast) by means of stays: her masts were stayed with lengths of telephone wire
Synonyms
brace, tether, strut, wire, prop, support, truss, buttress, shore up, stake, stick
Phrases
be in stays
miss stays
Origin
Old English stæg, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stag, from a base meaning 'be firm'.