stop
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cease from, leave off, or discontinue.
to stop running.
- Antonyms:
- start
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to cause to cease; put an end to.
to stop noise in the street.
- Antonyms:
- start
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to interrupt, arrest, or check (a course, proceeding, process, etc.).
Stop your work just a minute.
- Antonyms:
- start
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to cut off, intercept, or withhold.
to stop supplies.
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to restrain, hinder, or prevent (usually followed byfrom ).
I couldn't stop him from going.
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to prevent from proceeding, acting, operating, continuing, etc..
to stop a speaker; to stop a car.
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to block, obstruct, or close (a passageway, channel, opening, duct, etc.) (usually followed byup ).
He stopped up the sink with a paper towel. He stopped the hole in the tire with a patch.
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to fill the hole or holes in (a wall, a decayed tooth, etc.).
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to close (a container, tube, etc.) with a cork, plug, bung, or the like.
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to close the external orifice of (the ears, nose, mouth, etc.).
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Sports.
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to check (a stroke, blow, etc.); parry; ward off.
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to defeat (an opposing player or team).
The Browns stopped the Colts.
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Boxing. to defeat by a knockout or technical knockout.
Louis stopped Conn in the 13th round.
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Banking. to notify a bank to refuse payment of (a check) upon presentation.
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Bridge. to have an honor card and a sufficient number of protecting cards to keep an opponent from continuing to win in (a suit).
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Music.
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to close (a fingerhole) in order to produce a particular note from a wind instrument.
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to press down (a string of a violin, viola, etc.) in order to alter the pitch of the tone produced from it.
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to produce (a particular note) by so doing.
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verb (used without object)
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to come to a stand, as in a course or journey; halt.
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to cease moving, proceeding, speaking, acting, operating, etc.; to pause; desist.
- Synonyms:
- quit
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to cease; come to an end.
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to halt for a brief visit (often followed by at, in, orby ).
He is stopping at the best hotel in town.
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stop by, to make a brief visit on one's way elsewhere.
I'll stop by on my way home.
noun
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the act of stopping.
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a cessation or arrest of movement, action, operation, etc.; end.
The noise came to a stop. Put a stop to that behavior!
- Synonyms:
- termination, halt
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a stay or sojourn made at a place, as in the course of a journey.
Above all, he enjoyed his stop in Trieste.
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a place where trains or other vehicles halt to take on and discharge passengers.
Is this a bus stop?
- Synonyms:
- terminal
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a closing or filling up, as of a hole.
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a blocking or obstructing, as of a passage or channel.
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a plug or other stopper for an opening.
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an obstacle, impediment, or hindrance.
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any piece or device that serves to check or control movement or action in a mechanism.
- Synonyms:
- governor
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Architecture. a feature terminating a molding or chamfer.
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Commerce.
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an order to refuse payment of a check.
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Music.
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the act of closing a fingerhole or pressing a string of an instrument in order to produce a particular note.
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a device or contrivance, as on an instrument, for accomplishing this.
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(in an organ) a graduated set of pipes of the same kind and giving tones of the same quality.
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Also called stop knob. a knob or handle that is drawn out or pushed back to permit or prevent the sounding of such a set of pipes or to control some other part of the organ.
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(in a reed organ) a group of reeds functioning like a pipe-organ stop.
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Sports. an individual defensive play or act that prevents an opponent or opposing team from scoring, advancing, or gaining an advantage, as a catch in baseball, a tackle in football, or the deflection of a shot in hockey.
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Nautical. a piece of small line used to lash or fasten something, as a furled sail.
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Phonetics.
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an articulation that interrupts the flow of air from the lungs.
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a consonant sound characterized by stop articulation, as p, b, t, d, k, and g.
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Photography. the diaphragm opening of a lens, especially as indicated by an f- number.
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Building Trades.
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any of various marks used as punctuation at the end of a sentence, especially a period.
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the word “stop” printed in the body of a telegram or cablegram to indicate a period.
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(used with a singular verb) stops, a family of card games whose object is to play all of one's cards in a predetermined sequence before one's opponents.
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Zoology. a depression in the face of certain animals, especially dogs, marking the division between the forehead and the projecting part of the muzzle.
verb phrase
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stop down (on a camera) to reduce (the diaphragm opening of a lens).
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stop in to make a brief, incidental visit.
If you're in town, be sure to stop in.
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stop off to halt for a brief stay at some point on the way elsewhere.
On the way to Rome we stopped off at Florence.
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stop over to stop briefly in the course of a journey.
Many motorists were forced to stop over in that town because of floods.
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stop out
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to mask (certain areas of an etching plate, photographic negative, etc.) with varnish, paper, or the like, to prevent their being etched, printed, etc.
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to withdraw temporarily from school.
Most of the students who stop out eventually return to get their degrees.
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idioms
verb
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to cease from doing or being (something); discontinue
stop talking
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to cause (something moving) to halt or (of something moving) to come to a halt
to stop a car
the car stopped
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(tr) to prevent the continuance or completion of
to stop a show
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to prevent or restrain
to stop George from fighting
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(tr) to keep back
to stop supplies to the navy
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(tr) to intercept or hinder in transit
to stop a letter
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to block or plug, esp so as to close
to stop up a pipe
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to fill a hole or opening in
to stop up a wall
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(tr) to staunch or stem
to stop a wound
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(tr) to instruct a bank not to honour (a cheque)
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(tr) to deduct (money) from pay
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(tr) to provide with punctuation
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(tr) boxing to beat (an opponent) either by a knockout or a technical knockout
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informal (tr) to receive (a blow, hit, etc)
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(intr) to stay or rest
we stopped at the Robinsons' for three nights
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rare (tr) to defeat, beat, or kill
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(tr) music
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to alter the vibrating length of (a string on a violin, guitar, etc) by pressing down on it at some point with the finger
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to alter the vibrating length of an air column in a wind instrument by closing (a finger hole, etc)
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to produce (a note) in this manner
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(tr) to place a hand inside (the bell of a French horn) to alter the tone colour and pitch or play (a note) on a French horn in such a manner
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bridge to have a protecting card or winner in (a suit in which one's opponents are strong)
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to be prepared to do anything; be unscrupulous or ruthless
noun
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an arrest of movement or progress
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the act of stopping or the state of being stopped
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a place where something halts or pauses
a bus stop
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a stay in or as if in the course of a journey
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the act or an instance of blocking or obstructing
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a plug or stopper
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a block, screw, or other device or object that prevents, limits, or terminates the motion of a mechanism or moving part
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a punctuation mark, esp a full stop
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Also called: stop thrust. fencing a counterthrust made without a parry in the hope that one's blade will touch before one's opponent's blade
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short for stop payment stop order
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music
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the act of stopping the string, finger hole, etc, of an instrument
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a set of organ pipes or harpsichord strings that may be allowed to sound as a group by muffling or silencing all other such sets
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a knob, lever, or handle on an organ, etc, that is operated to allow sets of pipes to sound
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an analogous device on a harpsichord or other instrument with variable registers, such as an electrophonic instrument
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to play at full volume
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to spare no effort
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a stud on a football boot
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the angle between the forehead and muzzle of a dog or cat, regarded as a point in breeding
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nautical a short length of line or small stuff used as a tie, esp for a furled sail
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Also called: stop consonant. phonetics any of a class of consonants articulated by first making a complete closure at some point of the vocal tract and then releasing it abruptly with audible plosion. Stops include the labials (p, b), the alveolars or dentals (t, d), the velars (k, g) Compare continuant
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Also called: f-stop. photog
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a setting of the aperture of a camera lens, calibrated to the corresponding f-number
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another name for diaphragm
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a block or carving used to complete the end of a moulding
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Also called: stopper. bridge a protecting card or winner in a suit in which one's opponents are strong
Synonym Usage
Stop, arrest, check, halt imply causing a cessation of movement or progress (literal or figurative). Stop is the general term for the idea: to stop a clock. Arrest usually refers to stopping by imposing a sudden and complete restraint: to arrest development. Check implies bringing about an abrupt, partial, or temporary stop: to check a trotting horse. To halt means to make a temporary stop, especially one resulting from a command: to halt a company of soldiers.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stopsimple
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stopssimple
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have stoppedperfect
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have stoptperfect
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has stoppedperfect
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has stoptperfect
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am stoppingprogressive
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are stoppingprogressive
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is stoppingprogressive
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have been stoppingperfect progressive
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has been stoppingperfect progressive
Past
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stoppedsimple
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stoptsimple
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had stoppedperfect
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had stoptperfect
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was stoppingprogressive
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were stoppingprogressive
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had been stoppingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stop
First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb stoppen, stop(pe), Old English -stoppian; cognate with Dutch, Low German stoppen, German stopfen; all ultimately from Vulgar Latin stuppāre (unrecorded), “to plug with oakum,” derivative of Latin stuppa “coarse hemp or flax,” from Greek stýppē
Explanation
You know that red octagonal traffic sign that says STOP? It's telling you to stop moving and to stay put. You're familiar with stop as a word meaning "quit moving," but the word's original meaning is "to plug up a hole," like when you stop the hole in your bucket with oakum (or napkins). In English, stop came to mean "arrest" for any kind of movement. Stop crime! Stop that check! Stop that thief! Stop writing commands with stop! A stop can also be a place to rest, and the period at the end of this sentence is a "full stop."
Vocabulary lists containing stop
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The legislation also says courts should stop handing out short prison sentences of under a year, other than in specific or exceptional circumstances.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
We have to stop adding digital bells and whistles and instead design fixtures that people—especially older people—can use safely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
It’s a round number that gets people’s attention — but it isn’t something that suddenly forces the U.S. to stop borrowing in the open market.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Silicon Valley residents are increasingly trying to stop the advance of artificial intelligence, even as the region attracts hundreds of billions of dollars in investment to expand the technology’s reach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
“The premonition is the reason I’m going. I’ve got to figure out how to stop it. No one will know you sent me,” he vowed.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Instead of waiting until the first treatment stops working, doctors could switch to a second therapy while the tumor is still responding.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
O'Neil had identified national opens from around the world to play a part in a new schedule and stops on the Asian Tour were considered central to that plan.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Vehicle stops, he now declared, were “our main tool,” and ICE had to continue using them.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
She stops being the main character in her own story, says Victoria L. Jackson, a sports historian and co-director of the Great Game Lab, a research entity at Arizona State University.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
He stops beside a stone footbridge over a little stream.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
“The phone hasn’t stopped ringing,” said Andrés Rivero, a Miami-based attorney dealing with stacks of these claims.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
A churro cart vendor who had operated in South Los Angeles for more than a decade stopped vending altogether for six weeks at the peak of the roving sweeps, losing an estimated $5,000 in income.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Mauritania, where the German delegation stopped Monday, "desperately needs it", she said, citing hundreds of thousands of refugees who have arrived from neighbouring Mali "because the situation in the Sahel is so dangerous".
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
“The buck stopped here,” Solimene wrote in a goodbye email to colleagues.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
His companion stopped cold and Clare realized what he’d done.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
“Oh no! he had never written, hardly ever, any thing of the kind in his life. The stupidest fellow! He was afraid not even Miss Woodhouse”—he stopt a moment—“or Miss Smith could inspire him.”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
I stopt in my tracks and looked agin and then I seed it was my brother Bill growed to look as old as pa looked a fue years back.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
Harriet was on the point of leaving the room, and only stopt to say, with a very interesting naïveté,
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
Of Substances stopt between the Mouth and the Stomach —— 411 Chap.
From Advice to the people in general, with regard to their health by Tissot, S. A. D. (Samuel Auguste David)
While, with great dismay, she sought to recover them, a feeble, but eager voice, from a carriage, which suddenly stopt, ordered a footman to descend and assist the young lady.
From The Wanderer (Volume 4 of 5) or, Female Difficulties by Burney, Fanny
Agents could follow people and arrest them after they left their cars, he explained, while stopping people inside moving vehicles could place officers in greater danger.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
“After stopping the attack, they immediately transitioned from addressing the threat to providing lifesaving medical care until firefighters arrived.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
I can't see Argentina stopping us and then a final against France or Spain is 50/50.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Health officials are searching for the path of a parasite that has sickened potentially thousands of people across more than 30 states and isn’t showing signs of stopping.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The robot could have hiked on and on, never slowing or stopping, but the goose needed to rest.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.