stay away

phrasal verb

stayed away; staying away; stays away

: to not go near someone or something : avoid

I know I shouldn't go there, but it's hard to stay away.

—usually + from

Stay away from my girlfriend!

He usually stays away from large crowds.

I try to stay away from caffeine.

Examples of stay away in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Politics was once considered a pink elephant in the workplace—a topic, like religion and race, that people tended to stay away from discussing. —

Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024 Hodges also recommends staying away from fake plants on doors and in hanging planters and window boxes when possible. —

Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 2 Nov. 2024 Young Thug must stay away from the metro Atlanta area for the first 10 years of his probation, except for weddings, funerals, graduations or the serious illness of family members, the judge said. —

Kate Brumback, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024 If someone is traveling to West Africa, the CDC says the primary method of preventing infection with Lassa fever is to stay away from rats. —

Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for stay away