stop (st?p)v. stopped, stop·ping, stops v.tr.1. To close (an opening or hole) by covering, filling in, or plugging up: The tea leaves stopped the drain.2. To constrict (an opening or orifice): My nose is stopped up.3. To obstruct or block passage on (a road, for example).4. To prevent the flow or passage of: stop supplies from getting through.5. a. To halt the motion or progress of: stopped me and asked directions.b. To block or deflect (a blow, for example); parry or ward off.c. To be or get in the way of (a bullet or other missile); be killed or wounded by.6. a. To cause to desist or to change a course of action: The rain stopped us from continuing the argument.b. To prevent or restrain: An invitation to dinner stopped him from going to the movies.7. To discontinue or cease: He stopped his complaining.8. a. To defeat (an opponent or opposing team).b. To defeat in boxing by a knockout or technical knockout.9. To order a bank to withhold payment of: stopped the check.10. Music a. To press down (a string on a stringed instrument) on the fingerboard to produce a desired pitch.b. To close (a hole on a wind instrument) with the finger in sounding a desired pitch.v.intr.1. To cease moving, progressing, acting, or operating; come to a halt: The clock stopped in the night.2. To put an end to what one is doing; cease: had to stop at an exciting place in the book.3. To interrupt one’s course or journey for a brief visit or stay. Often used with by, in, or off: stop by at a friend’s house; stop in at the office; stop off at the gas station.n.1. The act of stopping or the condition of being stopped: Can’t you put a stop to all this ruckus? Production is at a stop.2. A halt or stay, as on a trip: We made a stop in Austin.3. A place at which someone or something stops: a regular stop on my delivery route; a bus stop.4. A device or means that obstructs, blocks, or plugs up.5. An order given to a bank to withhold payment on a check.6. A stop order.7. A part in a mechanism that stops or regulates movement.8. The effective aperture of a lens, controlled by a diaphragm.9. A mark of punctuation, especially a period.10. Music a. The act of stopping a string or hole on an instrument.b. A fret on a stringed instrument.c. A hole on a wind instrument.d. A device such as a key for closing the hole on a wind instrument.e. A tuned set of pipes, as in an organ.f. A knob, key, or pull that regulates such a set of pipes.11. Nautical A line used for securing something temporarily: a sail stop.12. a. Linguistics One of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal.b. A plosive.13. The depression between the muzzle and top of the skull of an animal, especially a dog.14. Sports A save made by a goalie.15. Games A stopper.16. Architecture A projecting stone, often carved, at the end of a molding.17. A control mechanism on an audio or video player that causes a recording to stop playing.adj. Of, relating to, or being of use at the end of an operation or activity: a stop code.Phrasal Verbs: stop down To reduce (the aperture) of a lens. stop out To withdraw temporarily from college.[Middle English stoppen, from Old English -stoppian, probably from Vulgar Latin *stupp?re, to caulk, from Latin stuppa, tow, broken flax, from Greek stupp?.]stop?pa·ble adj.Synonyms: stop, cease, desist, discontinue, halt1, quit These verbs mean to bring or come to an end: stop arguing; ceased crying; desist from complaining; discontinued the treatment; halting the convoy; quit laughing.Antonym: startAmerican Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.stop (st?p) vb, stops, stopping or stopped1. to cease from doing or being (something); discontinue: stop talking. 2. to cause (something moving) to halt or (of something moving) to come to a halt: to stop a car; the car stopped. 3. (tr) to prevent the continuance or completion of: to stop a show. 4. (often foll by: from) to prevent or restrain: to stop George from fighting. 5. (tr) to keep back: to stop supplies to the navy. 6. (tr) to intercept or hinder in transit: to stop a letter. 7. (often foll by: up) to block or plug, esp so as to close: to stop up a pipe. 8. (often foll by: up) to fill a hole or opening in: to stop up a wall. 9. (tr) to staunch or stem: to stop a wound. 10. (Banking & Finance) (tr) to instruct a bank not to honour (a cheque)11. (Industrial Relations & HR Terms) (tr) to deduct (money) from pay12. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) (tr) Brit to provide with punctuation13. (Boxing) (tr) boxing to beat (an opponent) either by a knockout or a technical knockout14. (tr) informal to receive (a blow, hit, etc)15. (intr) to stay or rest: we stopped at the Robinsons’ for three nights. 16. (tr) rare to defeat, beat, or kill17. (Music, other) (tr) music a. to alter the vibrating length of (a string on a violin, guitar, etc) by pressing down on it at some point with the fingerb. to alter the vibrating length of an air column in a wind instrument by closing (a finger hole, etc)c. to produce (a note) in this manner18. (Music, other) (tr) to place a hand inside (the bell of a French horn) to alter the tone colour and pitch or play (a note) on a French horn in such a manner19. (Bridge) bridge to have a protecting card or winner in (a suit in which one’s opponents are strong)20. stop at nothing to be prepared to do anything; be unscrupulous or ruthlessn21. an arrest of movement or progress22. the act of stopping or the state of being stopped23. a place where something halts or pauses: a bus stop. 24. a stay in or as if in the course of a journey25. the act or an instance of blocking or obstructing26. (Tools) a plug or stopper27. (General Engineering) a block, screw, or other device or object that prevents, limits, or terminates the motion of a mechanism or moving part28. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) Brit a punctuation mark, esp a full stop29. (Fencing) fencing Also called: stop thrust a counterthrust made without a parry in the hope that one’s blade will touch before one’s opponent’s blade30. (Banking & Finance) short for stop payment, stop order31. (Music, other) music a. the act of stopping the string, finger hole, etc, of an instrumentb. a set of organ pipes or harpsichord strings that may be allowed to sound as a group by muffling or silencing all other such setsc. a knob, lever, or handle on an organ, etc, that is operated to allow sets of pipes to soundd. an analogous device on a harpsichord or other instrument with variable registers, such as an electrophonic instrument32. (Music, other) to play at full volume33. to spare no effort34. (Clothing & Fashion) Austral a stud on a football boot35. (Breeds) the angle between the forehead and muzzle of a dog or cat, regarded as a point in breeding36. (Nautical Terms) nautical a short length of line or small stuff used as a tie, esp for a furled sail37. (Phonetics & Phonology) phonetics Also called: stop consonant any of a class of consonants articulated by first making a complete closure at some point of the vocal tract and then releasing it abruptly with audible plosion. Stops include the labials (p, b), the alveolars or dentals (t, d), the velars (k, g). Compare continuant38. (Photography) photog a. a setting of the aperture of a camera lens, calibrated to the corresponding f-numberb. another name for diaphragm439. (Architecture) a block or carving used to complete the end of a moulding40. (Bridge) bridge Also called: stopper a protecting card or winner in a suit in which one’s opponents are strong[C14: from Old English stoppian (unattested), as in forstoppian to plug the ear, ultimately from Late Latin stupp?re to stop with a tow, from Latin stuppa tow, from Greek stupp?] ?stoppable adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014stop (st?p) v. stopped, stop?ping, n. v.t. 1. to cease from or discontinue: to stop running. 2. to cause to cease: to stop crime. 3. to interrupt or check. 4. to cut off, intercept, or withhold: to stop supplies. 5. to restrain or prevent: I couldn’t stop him from going. 6. to prevent from proceeding, acting, or operating: to stop a car. 7. to block or close off (often fol. by up): to stop up a sink. 8. to fill holes in (a wall, a decayed tooth, etc.). 9. to close (a container, tube, etc.) with a cork, plug, or the like. 10. to close the external orifice of (the ears, nose, mouth, etc.). 11. to check (a stroke, blow, etc.); parry; ward off. 12. a. to defeat (an opposing player or team). b. to defeat in a boxing match by a knockout or technical knockout. 13. to notify a bank to refuse payment of (a check) upon presentation. 14. (in bridge) to have an honor card and a sufficient number of protecting cards to keep an opponent from continuing to win in (a suit). 15. a. to close (a fingerhole) in order to produce a particular note from a wind instrument. b. to press down (a string of a violin, viola, etc.) in order to alter the pitch of the tone produced. c. to produce (a particular note) by so doing. v.i. 16. to come to a stand, as in a course or journey; halt. 17. to cease moving, proceeding, operating, etc.; pause or desist. 18. to cease; come to an end. 19. to halt for a stay or visit: They’re stopping at a nice hotel. 20. stop by or in, to make a brief visit. 21. stop down, (on a camera) to reduce (the diaphragm opening of a lens). 22. stop off, to halt for a brief stay at some point on the way elsewhere. 23. stop out, a. to withdraw temporarily from school. b. to mask (areas of an etching plate, photographic negative, etc.) to prevent their being etched, printed, etc. 24. stop over, a. to stop briefly, as overnight, in the course of a journey. b. to make a brief visit. n. 25. the act of stopping. 26. a cessation or arrest of movement, activity, or operation; end: Put a stop to that! 27. a stay made at a place, as in the course of a journey. 28. a place where trains or other vehicles halt to take on and discharge passengers: a bus stop. 29. a closing or filling up, as of a hole. 30. a blocking or obstructing, as of a passage or channel. 31. a plug or other stopper for an opening. 32. an obstacle, impediment, or hindrance. 33. a piece or device that serves to check or control movement or action in a mechanism. 34. a. an order to refuse payment of a check. b. stop order. 35. a. the act of closing a fingerhole or pressing a string of an instrument in order to produce a particular note. b. a device, as on an instrument, for accomplishing this. c. a graduated set of organ pipes of the same kind giving tones of the same quality. d. a knob or handle that controls the sounding of such a set of pipes. e. a set of jacks on a harpsichord or reeds in a reed organ functioning like a pipe-organ stop. 36. a piece of small line used to lash or fasten something, as a furled sail. 37. a consonant sound made with complete closure at some part of the vocal tract, usu. followed by sudden release of the interrupted air, as in the sounds (p, b, t, d, k, g). Compare continuant. 38. the diaphragm opening of a camera lens, esp. as indicated by an f-number. 39. any of various marks used as punctuation at the end of a sentence, esp. a period. 40. the word ?stop? printed in the body of a telegram or cablegram to indicate a period. 41. a depression in the face of certain animals, esp. dogs, marking the division between the forehead and the projecting part of the muzzle. Idioms: pull out all the stops, to use every means available, as to accomplish something. [before 1000; Middle English stoppen (v.), Old English -stoppian (in forstoppian to stop up) « Vulgar Latin *stupp?re to plug with oakum, derivative of Latin stuppa coarse hemp You usually use the verb stop to say that someone no longer does something. After stop, you can use either an -ing form or a to-infinitive, but with different meanings.If you stop doing something at a particular time, you no longer do it after that time.If you stop to do something, you interrupt what you are doing in order to do something else. For example, if someone stops while they are walking somewhere, admires the view, then continues walking, you can say ‘She stopped to admire the view’.If you are prevented from doing something, you can say that something stops you doing it or stops you from doing it.Be Careful!Don’t say that something ‘stops somebody to do’ something. Don’t say, for example ‘How do you stop a tap to drip?’