| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024stale1 /steɪl/USA pronunciation adj., stal•er, stal•est. - not fresh;
dry or hardened, such as bread. - musty;
stagnant:a stale room. - overly familiar;
hackneyed;
trite:a stale joke. - having lost or no longer having or showing interest:He felt stale and and unable to get excited about work.
stale•ness, n. [uncountable] WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024stale1 (stāl),USA pronunciation adj., stal•er, stal•est, v., staled, stal•ing.
adj. - not fresh;
vapid or flat, as beverages;
dry or hardened, as bread. - musty;
stagnant:stale air. - having lost novelty or interest;
hackneyed;
trite:a stale joke. - having lost freshness, vigor, quick intelligence, initiative, or the like, as from overstrain, boredom, or surfeit:He had grown stale on the job and needed a long vacation.
- Lawhaving lost force or effectiveness through absence of action, as a claim.
v.t., v.i. - to make or become stale.
- 1250–1300; Middle English; akin to Middle Dutch stel in same sense; perh. akin to stand or to stale2
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged hard, tasteless, sour, insipid.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged uninteresting, stereotyped, old, common.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged fresh.
stale2 (stāl),USA pronunciation v.i., staled, stal•ing. - Animal Husbandry(of livestock, esp. horses) to urinate.
- 1400–50; late Middle English stalen to urinate; cognate with German stallen, Danish stalle, Norwegian, Swedish stalla
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: stale /steɪl/ adj - (esp of food) hard, musty, or dry from being kept too long
- (of beer, etc) flat and tasteless from being kept open too long
- (of air) stagnant; foul
- uninteresting from overuse; hackneyed: stale clichés
- no longer new: stale news
- lacking in energy or ideas through overwork or lack of variety
- (of a cheque) not negotiable by a bank as a result of not having been presented within six months of being written
- (of a claim, etc) having lost its effectiveness or force, as by failure to act or by the lapse of time
vb - to make or become stale
Etymology: 13th Century (originally applied to liquor in the sense: well matured): probably via Norman French from Old French estale (unattested) motionless, of Frankish origin; related to stall1, installˈstaleness n stale /steɪl/ vb - (intransitive) (of livestock) to urinate
n - the urine of horses or cattle
Etymology: 15th Century: perhaps from Old French estaler to stand in one position; see stall1; compare Middle Low German stallen to urinate, Greek stalassein to drip |