stop

stop or [stäp]

vt.

stopped, stopping [ME stoppen < OE -stoppian (in comp.) < WGmc stoppōn < VL * stuppare, to stop up, stuff < L stuppa < Gr styppē, tow < IE * stewe-, to thicken, contract > Gr styphein, to contract, Sans stuka, tuft]

I to close by filling, shutting off, covering, etc.

1. to staunch (a cut, wound, etc.)

2. to block up (a passage, road, pipe, etc.) so as to make impassable; obstruct: often with up

3. to fill in, plug up, or cover (a hole, cavity, opening, mouth, etc.): often with up

4. to close (a bottle, jug, etc.) as with a cork or cap

a) to close (a finger hole of a wind instrument) so as to produce a desired tone

b) to produce (a tone) in this way

II to cause to cease motion, activity, etc.

1. to prevent the passage or further passage of (water, light, etc.); block; intercept

2. to prevent the movement or further movement of; specif.,

a) to halt the progress of (a person, animal, vehicle, etc.)

b) to check (a blow, stroke, or thrust); parry; counter

c) to defeat (an opponent)

d) to intercept (a letter, etc.) in transit

e) to baffle; perplex; nonplus

3. to cease; desist from (with a gerund) [stop talking]

a) to cause to cease or end [stop that racket]

b) to bring to an end; discontinue [to stop a subscription]

c) to kill

d) to defeat, as by knocking out

4. to cause (an engine, machine, etc.) to cease operation

5. to press down (a violin string, etc.) against the fingerboard to produce a desired tone

6. to place a stop order on (a stock or other security)

7. Bridge to hold key cards that will prevent an opponent from running (a suit)

8. Chiefly Brit. to insert punctuation marks in

III to keep from beginning, acting, happening, etc.; prevent

1. to keep (a person) from doing something contemplated

2. to prevent the starting, advent, etc. of; preclude

3. to notify one's bank to withhold payment on (one's check)

vi.

1. to cease moving, walking, proceeding, etc.; halt

2. to leave off doing something; desist from continuing

3. to cease operating or functioning

4. to be able to go no further; come to an end

5. to become clogged or choked

6. to tarry or stay for a while, esp. as a transient or guest: often with at or in

n.

1. a stopping or being stopped; check; arrest; cessation; halt; specif., a pause in speech or at the end of a sense unit in verse

2. a coming to an end; finish; end

3. a stay or sojourn

4. a place stopped at, as on a bus route

5. an indentation in the face of an animal, esp. a dog, between the forehead and the nose or muzzle

6. something that stops; obstruction; obstacle; specif.,

a) a plug or stopper

b) STOP ORDER

c) an order to withhold payment on a check

d) a mechanical part that stops, limits, or regulates motion, as a pawl

e) Chiefly Brit. a punctuation mark, esp. a period

f) pressure, as of a finger, on a string of a violin, etc. to produce a desired tone

g) a fret on a guitar, etc.

h) the closing of a finger hole of a wind instrument to produce a desired tone

i) such a hole

j) a tuned set of organ pipes, reeds, or electronic devices of the same specific type and tone quality

k) a pull, lever, or key for putting such a set or sets into or out of operation

7. Naut. a piece of line used to secure something

8. Phonet.

a) the complete stopping of the outgoing breath, as with the lips, tongue, or velum

b) a consonant formed in this way, as (p), (b), (t), (d), (k), and (g): distinguished from CONTINUANT

9. Photog.

a) the aperture, usually adjustable, of a lens

b) the f-number

adj.

☆ that stops or is meant to stop [a stop signal]

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pull out all the stops or pull out all stops

1. to play an organ with all the stops in operation

2. to apply maximum effort; use everything possible

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put a stop to

to cause to cease; stop; end

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stop down

to reduce the lens aperture by adjustment of the diaphragm

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☆ stop off

to stop for a short stay en route to a place

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☆ stop out

1. to interrupt one's education as in order to work

2. to block out (areas not to be printed or painted) as of a silk-screen design

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☆ stop over

1. to visit for a while: also stop in (or by)

2. to break a journey, as for rest

SYN.- STOP implies a suspension or ending of some motion, action, or progress [my watch stopped]; CEASE implies a suspension or ending of some state or condition or of an existence [the war had ceased]; QUIT is equivalent to either STOP or CEASE [to quit working means either to stop working, as for the day, or to cease working, i.e., to retire ]; DISCONTINUE suggests the suspension of some action that is a habitual practice, an occupation, etc. [he has discontinued the practice of law ]; DESIST implies a ceasing of some action that is annoying, harmful, futile, etc. [desist from further bickering ] -ANT. BEGIN, START, COMMENCE