stall
1 (stôl)
[Middle English stalle, from Old English steall, standing place, stable.]
noun
- A compartment for one domestic animal in a barn or shed.
- A booth, cubicle, or stand used by a vendor, as at a market.
- A small compartment: a shower stall.
- An enclosed seat in the chancel of a church.
- A pew in a church.
- Chiefly British A seat in the front part of a theater.
- A space marked off, as in a garage, for parking a motor vehicle.
- A protective sheath for a finger or toe.
- The sudden, unintended loss of power or effectiveness in an engine.
- A condition in which an aircraft or airfoil experiences an interruption of airflow resulting in loss of lift and a tendency to drop.
verb: stalled, stall·ing, stalls.
transitive verb
- To put or lodge in a stall.
- To maintain in a stall for fattening: to stall cattle.
- To halt the motion or progress of; bring to a standstill.
- To cause (a motor or motor vehicle) accidentally to stop running.
- To cause (an aircraft) to go into a stall.
intransitive verb
- To live or be lodged in a stall. Used of an animal.
- To stick fast in mud or snow.
- To come to a standstill: Negotiations stalled.
- To stop running as a result of mechanical failure: The car stalled on the freeway.
- To lose forward flying speed, causing a stall. Used of an aircraft.
stall
2 (stôl)
[Alteration (influenced by stall1), of obsolete stale, pickpocket's accomplice, from Middle English, decoy, from Anglo-Norman estale, of Germanic originpossibly akin to Old English stǣl, stathol, place, position; see staddle.]
noun
- A ruse or tactic used to mislead or delay.
verb: stalled, stall·ing, stalls.
transitive verb
- To employ delaying tactics against: stall off creditors.
intransitive verb
- To employ delaying tactics: stalling for time.
