1
a
: a compartment for a domestic animal in a stable or barn
b
: a space marked off for parking a motor vehicle
2
a
: a seat in the chancel of a church with back and sides wholly or partly enclosed
b
: a church pew
c
chiefly British
: a front orchestra seat in a theater
—usually used in plural
3
: a booth, stand, or counter at which articles are displayed for sale
4
: a protective sheath for a finger or toe
5
: a small compartment
a shower stall
especially
: one with a toilet or urinal
stalled; stalling; stalls
1
: to put into or keep in a stall
2
obsolete
: install sense 2
1
: to come to a standstill (as from mired wheels or engine failure)
2
: to experience a stall in flying
: the condition of an airfoil or aircraft in which excessive angle of attack causes disruption of airflow with attendant loss of lift
: a ruse to deceive or delay
stalled; stalling; stalls
: to play for time : delay
: to hold off, divert, or delay by evasion or deception
Synonyms
Examples of stall in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2024
The club enters this weekend languishing in fifth place in the Bundesliga, its form patchy, its progress stalled.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 3 May 2024
The death of House Bill 1158 underpins the power of a lobby that is also opposed to a bill that would create regulation of management companies, which has stalled in the Colorado House and hasn’t had a vote in a month.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, The Denver Post, 3 May 2024
The bill was expected to be taken up by the full Pennsylvania House earlier this year, but the effort has since stalled.
—Nicholas Florko, STAT, 3 May 2024
Uneven offensive start After fielding one of the best offenses in the MLB last year the Rangers have stalled at times ranking 11th in average (.248), 15th in runs scored (135) and 11th in hits (259).
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 May 2024
Sports betting supporters in Missouri submitted petitions Thursday to try to put the issue on the November ballot, but proposals have stalled in Alabama and Georgia.
—Steve Karnowski, Twin Cities, 2 May 2024
The move comes after decades of debate and stalled legislation on LDTs, which also include certain cancer screenings as well as some tests for rare diseases.
—Anna Clark, ProPublica, 30 Apr. 2024
That week, the House passed a bill with bipartisan support giving ByteDance a six-month deadline to sell, but the Senate stalled bringing up the measure.
—Gillian Brassil, Sacramento Bee, 24 Apr. 2024
Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 25 Apr. 2024
Among the Trump-merchandise stalls and food stands was a Turning Point Action booth, where a young volunteer and friend of Presler’s was signing up the not insignificant portion of Trump-rally attendees who aren’t registered to vote.
—Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2024
There are additional horse and livestock stalls and pastures on the land.
—David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 23 Apr. 2024
When the line by their doughnut stall grew longer each Saturday, the couple decided to go all-in with Slow Rise, launching social media, a website and merchandise.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 20 Apr. 2024
Pai Yang expanded it in 2016 with a larger food court, event space, offices for health care providers, and more stalls for vendors to sell food items, traditional Hmong clothing and other goods.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
In the meantime, people sleep in trucks, against horse stalls and under tarps.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2024
Harriet’s Hamburgers Papi Queso and The Plaid Penguin teamed up to serve old-fashioned hamburgers from a ‘50s-style diner stall.
—Jessica Swannie, Charlotte Observer, 1 Apr. 2024
Manrique knelt on a toilet in a dark bathroom stall, huddled silently next to her two colleagues.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 12 Apr. 2024
Verb
Business interests are increasingly turning to the statewide ballot to block and stall progressive laws from taking effect, or to push their own policy agenda directly to voters.
—Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2024
The club enters this weekend languishing in fifth place in the Bundesliga, its form patchy, its progress stalled.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 3 May 2024
The death of House Bill 1158 underpins the power of a lobby that is also opposed to a bill that would create regulation of management companies, which has stalled in the Colorado House and hasn’t had a vote in a month.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, The Denver Post, 3 May 2024
The bill was expected to be taken up by the full Pennsylvania House earlier this year, but the effort has since stalled.
—Nicholas Florko, STAT, 3 May 2024
Uneven offensive start After fielding one of the best offenses in the MLB last year the Rangers have stalled at times ranking 11th in average (.248), 15th in runs scored (135) and 11th in hits (259).
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 May 2024
Sports betting supporters in Missouri submitted petitions Thursday to try to put the issue on the November ballot, but proposals have stalled in Alabama and Georgia.
—Steve Karnowski, Twin Cities, 2 May 2024
The move comes after decades of debate and stalled legislation on LDTs, which also include certain cancer screenings as well as some tests for rare diseases.
—Anna Clark, ProPublica, 30 Apr. 2024
That week, the House passed a bill with bipartisan support giving ByteDance a six-month deadline to sell, but the Senate stalled bringing up the measure.
—Gillian Brassil, Sacramento Bee, 24 Apr. 2024
Noun
There’s also a 100-foot x 200-foot year-round riding arena, additional horse and livestock stalls, and fenced pastures.
—Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 25 Apr. 2024
Among the Trump-merchandise stalls and food stands was a Turning Point Action booth, where a young volunteer and friend of Presler’s was signing up the not insignificant portion of Trump-rally attendees who aren’t registered to vote.
—Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2024
There are additional horse and livestock stalls and pastures on the land.
—David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 23 Apr. 2024
When the line by their doughnut stall grew longer each Saturday, the couple decided to go all-in with Slow Rise, launching social media, a website and merchandise.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 20 Apr. 2024
Pai Yang expanded it in 2016 with a larger food court, event space, offices for health care providers, and more stalls for vendors to sell food items, traditional Hmong clothing and other goods.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
In the meantime, people sleep in trucks, against horse stalls and under tarps.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2024
Harriet’s Hamburgers Papi Queso and The Plaid Penguin teamed up to serve old-fashioned hamburgers from a ‘50s-style diner stall.
—Jessica Swannie, Charlotte Observer, 1 Apr. 2024
Manrique knelt on a toilet in a dark bathroom stall, huddled silently next to her two colleagues.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stall.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near stall
Cite this Entry
“Stall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stall. Accessed 9 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
stall
1 of 5 noun1
: a compartment for a domestic animal in a stable or barn
2
a
: a seat in the choir of a church with back and sides wholly or partly enclosed
b
chiefly British
: a front orchestra seat in a theater
—usually used in plural
3
: a booth, stand, or counter at which articles are displayed for sale
4
: a small compartment
a shower stall
especially
: one with a toilet or urinal
stall
2 of 5 verb1
: to put into or keep in a stall
2
: to stop or cause to stop usually by accident
stall an engine
3
: to experience or cause (an aircraft) to experience a stall in flying
stall
3 of 5 noun
: the condition of an aircraft or a wing of an aircraft in which lift is lost and the aircraft or wing tends to drop
stall
4 of 5 noun
: a trick to deceive or delay
stall
5 of 5 verb
: to distract attention or make excuses to gain time
try to stall them until I get the place cleaned up
Etymology
Noun
Old English steall "stall for an animal"
Noun
an altered form of earlier stale "lure"
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