stag

1 of 3

noun

plural stags
1
or plural stag : an adult male red deer
also : the male of various other deer (especially genus Cervus)
2
chiefly Scotland : a young horse
especially : a young unbroken stallion
3
: a male animal castrated after sexual maturity compare steer sense 1
4
: a young adult male domestic chicken or turkey
5
a
: a social gathering of men only
b
: one who attends a dance or party without a companion

stag

2 of 3

verb

stagged; stagging

transitive verb

British
: to spy on

intransitive verb

: to attend a dance or party without a companion

stag

3 of 3

adjective

1
a
: restricted to men
a stag party
b
: intended for a male audience
especially : pornographic
stag movies
2
: unaccompanied by someone of the opposite sex
stag women
stag adverb

Examples of stag in a Sentence

Adjective a stash of stag flicks that were hidden in the basement
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
These mystical creatures, like the stag from season 1, can greatly enhance Alina's powers — hopefully enough to defeat Kirigan. Nick Romano, EW.com, 17 Feb. 2023 The opener is a long-overdue screw-you to corporate parent Disney for traumatizing generations with tales of mother murder, as deer Marge reassures fawn Bart that stag Homer has finally speared hunter Burns with his mighty horns. Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 24 Nov. 2023 Barbary sheep, mouflon sheep, blackbuck, red stag, sika and axis deer and mountain goats are among the exotic game that roam the ranch. Melissa Manno, San Antonio Express-News, 17 Dec. 2023 The Stag / Taiwan (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: An Chu, Producer: Tzu-Yuan Wang) — At a deer farm in Changhua County, a middle-aged man is asked to cut off a stag’s antlers in front of his two kids. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 12 Dec. 2023 These stags are in peak-rut form, all vying for the attention of the hinds in estrus. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 24 Aug. 2023 Today, drinking culture is much less revered, and more often than not the idea of drinking on planes evokes images of rowdy stag dos or over zealous hen parties. Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Sep. 2023 Host on-site bachelor/bachelorette parties Because their families and friends had traveled so far—and had been kept apart so long during the pandemic—the pair hosted their stag and hen (or bachelor and bachelorette) parties on site. Kaitlin Menza, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2023 But proximity to stags, bulls, and bucks during the rut should get your heart rate up. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 24 Aug. 2023
Adjective
Hannah Dale, the founder of Wrendale Designs and artist behind the stag cards, told Hello! Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 30 Dec. 2022 Biologists say that these fantastic shapes — from the giant curved tusks of woolly mammoths to the nightmarish jaws of stag beetles — evolved to ward off competition from rival males and to impress females. Kendall Powell, Discover Magazine, 6 Dec. 2019 Its long leaves resemble, naturally, stag horns, making this a great plant to pot or even mount on a wall for an animal-friendly alternative to the real thing. Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Nov. 2022 The opener is a long-overdue screw-you to corporate parent Disney for traumatizing generations with tales of mother-murder, as deer Marge reassures fawn Bart that stag Homer has finally speared hunter Burns with his mighty horns. Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 30 Oct. 2022 Moreover, high debt ratios will create the conditions for stag-flationary debt crises; i.e., the worst of the 1970s and the worst of the post-global-financial-crisis period. Nouriel Roubini, Time, 13 Oct. 2022 Early illustrations indicated that during Queen Victoria’s reign, mounted stag heads lined the walls, facing enormous chandeliers and a cutout orchestral pit. Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 8 Sep. 2022 To keep things lighthearted, work in a few quirky talking points into your teenage son's bedroom, like the paper mache stag heads seen here in a ski house bedroom designed by Sarah Richardson. Alyssa Longobucco, House Beautiful, 19 Aug. 2022 Fred picked from lakeside sedges beside stag moose, camels, and giant beavers as the matriarch kept watch for dire wolves. Peter Brannen, The Atlantic, 22 June 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stag.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English stagge, from Old English stagga; akin to Old Norse andarsteggi drake

Verb

stag (informer)

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1796, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Adjective

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of stag was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near stag

Cite this Entry

“Stag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stag. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

stag

1 of 2 noun
plural stags
1
or plural stag : an adult male deer especially of one of the larger kinds
2
a
: a social gathering of men only
b
: a man who attends a dance or party unaccompanied by a woman

stag

2 of 2 adjective
1
: intended for men only
a stag party
2
: unaccompanied by someone of the opposite sex
stag adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on stag

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