stall

• (UK) IPA^(key): /stɔːl/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔːl
• (US) IPA^(key): /stɔl/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /stɑl/
• Homophone: STOL (some accents)

From Middle English stall, stalle, from Old English steall (“standing place, position”), from Proto-Germanic *stallaz, from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place, put, post, stand”).

stall (plural stalls)

1. (countable) A compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed.

   Synonym: boose

2. A stable; a place for cattle.
   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “The Cock and the Fox: Or, The Tale of the Nun’s Priest, from Chaucer”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 231:

     His Fellow ſought what Lodging he could find:
     At laſt he found a Stall where oxen ſtood,
     And that he rather choſe than lie abroad.

3. A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale.
   • 1714, J[ohn] Gay, “Saturday; or, The Flights”, in The Shepherd’s Week. In Six Pastorals, London: […] R. Burleigh […], →OCLC, page 57, lines 71–74:

     Now he goes on, and ſings of fairs and ſhows,
     For ſtill new fairs before his eyes aroſe.
     How pedlars' ſtalls with glitt'ring toys are laid,
     The various fairings of the country maid.

4. (countable) A small open-fronted shop, for example in a market, food court, etc.
   • 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:

     He looked in vain into the stalls for the butcher who had sold fresh meat twice a week, on market days [...]

   • 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 3:

     Despite the swift backpedalling of the university, the original notice given to stall operators is suggestive of the potential existence of 'a growing English-speaking elite' that is 'happy to maintain the importance of the English language'.

5. A very small room used for a shower or a toilet.
   • 1990, John Updike, Rabbit at Rest:

     Rabbit eases from the king-size bed, goes into their bathroom with its rose-colored one-piece Fiberglas tub and shower stall, and urinates into the toilet of a matching rose porcelain.

6. (countable) A seat in a theatre close to and (about) level with the stage; traditionally, a seat with arms, or otherwise partly enclosed, as distinguished from the benches, sofas, etc.
7. (Germanic paganism) An Heathen altar, typically an indoor one, as contrasted with a more substantial outdoor harrow.
   • 1989, Edred Thorsson, A Book of Troth, Llewellyn Publications, →ISBN, page 156:

     In a private rite, a ring is drawn on the ground around a harrow or before an indoor stall.

   • 2006, Selene Silverwind, “Asatruar Tools and Practices”, in Everything you need to know about Paganism‎, David & Charles, →ISBN, page 117:

     Some Asatruar kindreds call their indoor altars stalls and their outdoor altars harrows.

   • 2006, Mark Puryear, The Nature of Asatru: An Overview of the Ideals and Philosophy of the Indigenous Religion of Northern Europe‎, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 237:

     Stalli (STAL-i) - Altar.

8. A seat in a church, especially one next to the chancel or choir, reserved for church officials and dignitaries.
9. A church office that entitles the incumbent to the use of a church stall.
   • 1910 [1840], Alexandre Dumas, père, translator not mentioned, Celebrated Crimes: Urbain Grandier, P. F. Collier edition,

     When he had been some months installed there as a priest-in-charge, he received a prebendal stall, thanks to the same patrons, in the collegiate church of Sainte-Croix.

10. A sheath to protect the finger.
11. (mining) The space left by excavation between pillars.
12. (Canada) A parking stall; a space for a vehicle in a parking lot or parkade.

• (toilet stall): cubicle (UK, AU)

• orchestra stalls
• stall-fed

stall (third-person singular simple present stalls, present participle stalling, simple past and past participle stalled)

1. (transitive) To put (an animal, etc.) in a stall.

   to stall an ox

   • 1697, Virgil, “The Ninth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 479, lines 523–526:

     But Niſus hit the Turns with happier haſte,
     And thoughtleſs of his Friend, the Foreſt paſs'd:
     And Alban Plains, from Alba's Name ſo call'd,
     Where King Latinus then his Oxen ſtall'd.

2. To fatten.

   to stall cattle

3. (obsolete) To live in, or as if in, a stall; to dwell.
   • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 364, column 2:

     I must perforce
     Haue ſhewne to thee ſuch a declining day,
     Or looke on thine: we could not ſtall together
     In the whole world.

4. To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install.
   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

     Deck'd in thy rights , as thou art stall'd in mine

5. To forestall; to anticipate.
   • 1636 (first performance; published 1655), Philip Massinger, “The Bashful Lover”, in W[illiam] Gifford, editor, The Plays of Philip Massinger, […], volume IV, London: […] G[eorge] and W[illiam] Nicol; […] by W[illiam] Bulmer and Co. […], published 1805, →OCLC, Act IV, scene iii, page 427:

     This is not to be staled by my report,
     This only must be told: […]

6. To keep close; to keep secret.
   • c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 233, column 2:

     You haue diſcharg'd this honeſtlie, keepe it to your ſelfe, […] praie you leaue mee, ſtall this in your boſome, and I thanke you for your honeſt care: I will ſpeake with you further anon.

From Middle English stallen (“to abide, dwell, place in a location, stop, come to a standstill”), partly from Old French estaler, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1 (see above); and partly from Middle English stalle (“fixed position, stall”).

stall (plural stalls)

1. An action that is intended to cause, or actually causes, delay.

   His encounters with security, reception, the secretary, and the assistant were all stalls until the general manager's attorney arrived.

2. (aeronautics) Loss of lift due to an airfoil's critical angle of attack being exceeded, normally occurring due to low airspeed.
   • 1979 December 21, National Transportation Safety Board, “3.2 Probable Cause”, in Aircraft Accident Report: American Airlines, Inc., DC-10-10, N110AA, Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1979‎, archived from the original on 17 August 2022, page 69:

     The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the asymmetric stall and the ensuing roll of the aircraft because of the uncommanded retraction of the left wing outboard leading edge slats and the loss of stall warning and slat disagreement indication systems resulting from maintenance-induced damage leading to the separation of the No. 1 engine and pylon assembly at a critical point during takeoff. The separation resulted from damage by improper maintenance procedures which led to failure of the pylon structure.

• deep stall

• shock stall
• stall angle
• stall speed
• stall turn

stall (third-person singular simple present stalls, present participle stalling, simple past and past participle stalled)

1. (transitive) To employ delaying tactics against.

   He stalled the creditors as long as he could.

2. (intransitive) To employ delaying tactics; to stall for time.

   Soon it became clear that she was stalling to give him time to get away.

   • 2007, KT Tunstall (lyrics and music), “Saving My Face”, in Drastic Fantastic‎:

     See the look on my face
     From staying too long in one place
     But every time I try to leave
     I find I keep on stalling

3. (intransitive) To come to a standstill.
   • 1960 July, “Motive Power Miscellany: Western Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 443:

     [...] the 4-4-0 unhappily stalled after a stop on Reading Old Bank with its eight-coach load and the Reading Up Line pilot, a "Hall", had to bank the train into Reading General.

   • 2023 September 20, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Mayor backs southern rail link for Heathrow Airport”, in RAIL, number 992, page 24:

     But both projects have stalled, with no indication of how they would be funded.

4. (transitive) To cause to stop making progress; to hinder; to slow down; to delay or forestall.
   • 1977 December 10, Eric Rogers, “'Tolerant' Rhetoric Masks Anti-Gay Bias”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 23, page 13:

     In Barnhouse's mind, their screwed-up childhoods have left homosexuals stalled at an adolescent point in the normal progression of psycho-social development. Unable to attain the "normal" gender identification and separation from mother, they are forced to lead incomplete lives and thus remain "immature."

5. (intransitive, aviation) To exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in loss of lift.
   • 1999 April 15, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, “1.1 History of the Flight”, in Aviation Investigation Report A97H0011, Loss of control on go-around (Rejected Landing), Air Canada Canadair CL-600-2B19 C-FSKI, Fredericton Airport, New Brunswick, 16 December 1997‎, archived from the original on 2 September 2022, pages 1–2:

     The thrust levers were advanced, the first officer selected the go-around mode for the flight director, and he started to increase the pitch of the aircraft to the command bar indications, 10 degrees nose up. About one second after the first officer acknowledged the go-around, the stick shaker (stall warning) activated. As the aircraft reached 10 degrees nose up, about one and one-half seconds after the stick shaker activated, the captain called flaps and selected them to the go-around setting, the warbler tone associated with the stall protection system (SPS) sounded, and the aircraft stalled aerodynamically. The aircraft rolled right to approximately 55 degrees of bank, and the right wing tip contacted the runway about 2700 feet from the threshold and 45 feet left of the centre line, the right wing tip bending upwards about four feet from the tip.

6. (transitive, aviation) To cause to exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in loss of lift.

   The pilot stalled the plane by pulling the nose up too high at a slow airspeed.

7. To plunge into mire or snow so as not to be able to get on; to set; to fix.

   to stall a cart

   • 1884, Edward Everett Hale, The Fortunes of Rachel:

     His horses had been stalled in the snow.

8. (intransitive, of an engine) To stop suddenly.
9. (transitive, automotive) To cause the engine of a manual-transmission car or truck to stop by going too slowly for the selected gear.
10. (obsolete) To be stuck, as in mire or snow; to stick fast.
11. (obsolete) To be tired of eating, as cattle.

• (transitive): delay, postpone, put off
• (intransitive): delay, penelopize, procrastinate

• forestall
• stall for time
• stall out

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “stall”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

• talls

From Old Norse stallr.

stall m (definite singular stallen, indefinite plural staller, definite plural stallene)

1. a stable (building where horses are housed)

• lokomotivstall

• “stall” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Old Norse stallr.

stall m (definite singular stallen, indefinite plural stallar, definite plural stallane)

1. a stable (building where horses are housed)

• lokomotivstall

• “stall” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Old Swedish stalder, from Old Norse stallr.

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stall n

1. stable, building for housing horses
2. a team in certain sports, in particular racing.
3. bridge (of a violin etc.)

• → Finnish: talli
  • → Ingrian: talli

• talls