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
Gillian Brassil, Sacramento Bee, 24 Apr. 2024
Still, there are fears that workforce shortages could stall the rollout of the infrastructure law in Arizona.
—Laura Gersony, The Arizona Republic, 23 Apr. 2024
Cantwell was an obstacle to the House's previous bill to force a sale or ban of TikTok, which passed in March and then stalled in the Senate.
—Lauren Peller, ABC News, 21 Apr. 2024
For months, the national security supplemental was stalled as Republicans wanted the foreign aid to be tied to tougher immigration laws at the southwestern border, but rejected a bipartisan border agreement in the Senate.
—Daniel Desrochers, Kansas City Star, 20 Apr. 2024
Writers Guild of America members employed by Sesame Workshop have struck a tentative contract deal with management, averting a strike after negotiations stalled over compensation and union representation for the nonprofit organization’s animation and social media staff.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024
The economy is coming into focus Everyday Americans, on the other hand, haven’t fretted about progress on inflation potentially stalling.
—Bryan Mena, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
The slightly better-than-expected producer price reading comes at a time of worries that progress against inflation had stalled, raising doubts about whether and when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
—Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
As Western aid has slowed, including a $60 billion U.S. package stalled in Congress for six months, Ukraine’s armed forces have been struggling with a severe shortage of soldiers, ammunition and weapons — allowing Russia to advance on the battlefield.
—David L. Stern, Washington Post, 11 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
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
Still, there are fears that workforce shortages could stall the rollout of the infrastructure law in Arizona.
—Laura Gersony, The Arizona Republic, 23 Apr. 2024
Cantwell was an obstacle to the House's previous bill to force a sale or ban of TikTok, which passed in March and then stalled in the Senate.
—Lauren Peller, ABC News, 21 Apr. 2024
For months, the national security supplemental was stalled as Republicans wanted the foreign aid to be tied to tougher immigration laws at the southwestern border, but rejected a bipartisan border agreement in the Senate.
—Daniel Desrochers, Kansas City Star, 20 Apr. 2024
Writers Guild of America members employed by Sesame Workshop have struck a tentative contract deal with management, averting a strike after negotiations stalled over compensation and union representation for the nonprofit organization’s animation and social media staff.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024
The economy is coming into focus Everyday Americans, on the other hand, haven’t fretted about progress on inflation potentially stalling.
—Bryan Mena, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
The slightly better-than-expected producer price reading comes at a time of worries that progress against inflation had stalled, raising doubts about whether and when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
—Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
As Western aid has slowed, including a $60 billion U.S. package stalled in Congress for six months, Ukraine’s armed forces have been struggling with a severe shortage of soldiers, ammunition and weapons — allowing Russia to advance on the battlefield.
—David L. Stern, Washington Post, 11 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 28 Apr. 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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