Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

stay1

Pronunciation: /steɪ/
Translate stay | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of stay

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
  • (stay for/to) delay leaving so as to join in (an activity):why not stay to lunch?
  • 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
  • 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
  • Scottish & South African live permanently:where do you stay?
  • 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
  • assuage (hunger) for a short time:I grabbed something to stay the pangs of hunger
  • literary curb; check:he tries to stay the destructive course of barbarism
  • [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
  • 2 literary a curb or check:there is likely to be a good public library as a stay against boredom
  • Law a suspension or postponement of judicial proceedings:a stay of prosecution
  • 3a device used as a brace or support.
  • (stays) historical a corset made of two pieces laced together and stiffened by strips of whalebone.
  • 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

informal be permanent or widely accepted:the private sector is here to stay and likely to expand

stay the course (or distance)

keep going strongly to the end of a race or contest: critics predicted the car could not stay the distance
pursue a difficult task to the end: success in small businesses requires determination to stay the course

stay of execution

a delay in carrying out a court order: the prisoner was granted a stay of execution by the Supreme Court

stay put

remain somewhere without moving or being moved: she told Clarissa to stay put

stay well

South African said as an expression of good wishes by a person leaving.

Phrasal Verbs

stay behind

remain in a classroom or school at the end of teaching, especially to receive punishment:please stay behind after class - I would like to talk to you regarding your lateness

stay on

continue to study, work, or be somewhere after others have left:75 per cent of sixteen-year-olds stay on in full-time education

stay over

(of a guest or visitor) sleep somewhere, especially at someone’s home, for the night:children stay over at each other’s houses more often than they did

stay up

not go to bed:they stayed up all night

stay with

  • 1remain in the mind or memory of:Gary’s words stayed with her all evening
  • 2continue or persevere with (an activity or task):the incentive needed to stay with a healthy diet
  • 3(of a competitor or player) keep up with (another) during a race or match: Smith is so quick that an offensive tackle can’t stay with him

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' (stay1 (sense 5 of the verb) and stay1 (sense 3 of the noun)), partly from Old French estaye (noun), estayer (verb), of Germanic origin

stay in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of stay in the US English dictionary

Reference to stay in Language Resources

Nearby words

  |  Cite

Word of the day

epithalamium

/ ˌɛpɪθəˈleɪmɪəm /
noun
a song or poem celebrating a marriage …