stop
stop
(stɒp )Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense stops , present participle stopping , past tense, past participle stopped
1. verb
If you have been doing something and then you stop doing it, you no longer do it.
Stop throwing those stones! [V -ing]
He can't stop thinking about it. [VERB verb-ing]
I've been told to lose weight and stop smoking. [VERB verb-ing]
I stopped working last year to have a baby. [VERB verb-ing]
Does either of the parties want to stop the fighting? [VERB noun]
She stopped in mid-sentence. [VERB]
quit, cease, refrain, break off, put an end to, pack in [British, informal], discontinue, leave off, call it a day [informal], desist, belay [nautical], bring or come to a halt or standstill2. verb
If you stop something happening, you prevent it from happening or prevent it from continuing.
He proposed a new diplomatic initiative to try to stop the war. [VERB noun]
If the fire isn't stopped, it could spread to 25,000 acres. [be VERB-ed]
I think she really would have liked to stop us seeing each other. [VERB noun verb-ing]
He put the radio on loud to stop himself thinking about it. [V n -ing]
Motherhood won't stop me from pursuing my acting career. [VERB noun + from]
There's nothing to stop you from doing a bit of exploring further afield. [V n from -ing]
prevent, suspend, cut short, close, break, check, bar, arrest, silence, frustrate, axe [informal], interrupt, restrain, hold back, intercept, hinder, repress, impede, rein in, forestall, nip (something) in the bud3. verb
If an activity or process stops, it is no longer happening.
The rain had stopped and a star or two was visible over the mountains. [VERB]
The system overheated and filming had to stop. [VERB]
The music stopped and the lights were turned up. [VERB]
They're treating it like a game, a novelty. That's got to stop. [VERB]
end, conclude, finish, be over, cut out [informal], terminate, come to an end, peter out4. verb
If something such as machine stops or is stopped, it is no longer moving or working.
The clock had stopped at 2.12 a.m. [VERB]
His heart stopped three times. [VERB]
Arnold stopped the engine and got out of the car. [VERB noun]
He stopped the machine and replayed the message. [VERB noun]
cease, shut down, discontinue, desist5. verb
When a moving person or vehicle stops or is stopped, they no longer move and they remain in the same place.
The car failed to stop at an army checkpoint. [VERB]
He stopped and let her catch up with him. [VERB]
The event literally stopped the traffic. [VERB noun]
The van was stopped at customs in Harwich. [VERB noun]
halt, pause, stall, draw up, pull up6. singular noun
If something that is moving comes to a stop or is brought to a stop, it slows down and no longer moves.
People often wrongly open doors before the train has come to a stop.
He slowed the car almost to a stop.
halt, standstill7. verb
If someone does not stop to think or to explain, they continue with what they are doing without taking any time to think about or explain it.
She doesn't stop to think about what she's saying. [VERB to-infinitive]
There is something rather strange about all this if one stops to consider it. [VERB to-infinitive]
People who lead busy lives have no time to stop and reflect. [VERB]
pause, wait, rest, hesitate, deliberate, take a break, have a breather [informal], stop briefly8. verb
If you say that a quality or state stops somewhere, you mean that it exists or is true up to that point, but no further.
The cafe owner has put up the required 'no smoking' signs, but thinks his responsibility stops there. [VERB adverb]
The good news did not stop there. [VERB adverb]
Once you cross over the thin line to acts of lawlessness, who knows where it stops? [VERB adverb]
9. countable noun
A stop is a place where buses or trains regularly stop so that people can get on and off.
There was an Underground map above one of the windows and I counted the stops to West Hampstead.
They waited at a bus stop.
station, stage, halt, destination, depot [US, Canadian], termination, terminus10. verb
If you stop somewhere on a journey, you stay there for a short while.
He insisted we stop at a small restaurant just outside of Atlanta. [VERB preposition/adverb]
It would be a crime to travel all the way to Australia and not stop in Sydney. [VERB preposition/adverb]
stay, rest, put up, lodge, sojourn [literary], tarry, break your journey11. countable noun
12. countable noun [usually plural]
In music, organ stops are the knobs at the side of the organ, which you pull or push in order to control the type of sound that comes out of the pipes.
17. to stop dead
18. to stop short of
