stall

Plural: stalls

Noun

• a compartment in a stable where a single animal is confined and fed
• small area set off by walls for special use
• a booth where articles are displayed for sale
• a malfunction in the flight of an aircraft in which there is a sudden loss of lift that results in a downward plunge
  • "the plane went into a stall and I couldn't control it"
• seating in the forward part of the main level of a theater
• small individual study area in a library
• a tactic used to mislead or delay
• A compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed.
• A stable; a place for cattle.
• A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale.
• A small open-fronted shop, for example in a market, food court, etc.
• A very small room used for a shower or a toilet.
• A seat in a theatre close to and (about) level with the stage; traditionally, a seat with arms, or otherwise partly enclosed, as distinguished from the benches, sofas, etc.
• An Heathen altar, typically an indoor one, as contrasted with a more substantial outdoor harrow.
• A seat in a church, especially one next to the chancel or choir, reserved for church officials and dignitaries.
• A church office that entitles the incumbent to the use of a church stall.
• A sheath to protect the finger.
• The space left by excavation between pillars.
• A parking stall; a space for a vehicle in a parking lot or parkade.
• An action that is intended to cause, or actually causes, delay.
• Loss of lift due to an airfoil's critical angle of attack being exceeded, normally occurring due to low airspeed.

Verb

Verb Forms: stalled, stalling, stalls

• To stop the progress of; to delay or cause to stop.
• postpone doing what one should be doing
• come to a stop
  • "The car stalled in the driveway"
• deliberately delay an event or action
  • "she doesn't want to write the report, so she is stalling"
• put into, or keep in, a stall
  • "Stall the horse"
• experience a stall in flight, of airplanes
• cause an airplane to go into a stall
• cause an engine to stop
  • "The inexperienced driver kept stalling the car"
• To put (an animal, etc.) in a stall.
• To fatten.
• To live in, or as if in, a stall; to dwell.
• To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install.
• To forestall; to anticipate.
• To keep close; to keep secret.
• To employ delaying tactics against.
• To employ delaying tactics; to stall for time.
• To come to a standstill.
• To cause to stop making progress; to hinder; to slow down; to delay or forestall.
• To exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in loss of lift.
• To cause to exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in loss of lift.
• To plunge into mire or snow so as not to be able to get on; to set; to fix.
• To stop suddenly.
• To cause the engine of a manual-transmission car or truck to stop by going too slowly for the selected gear.
• To be stuck, as in mire or snow; to stick fast.
• To be tired of eating, as cattle.

Examples

• He stalled the creditors as long as he could.
• He tried to stall the game by playing short, low-scoring words.
• His encounters with security, reception, the secretary, and the assistant were all stalls until the general manager's attorney arrived.
• Soon it became clear that she was stalling to give him time to get away.
• The pilot stalled the plane by pulling the nose up too high at a slow airspeed.
• to stall a cart
• to stall an ox
• to stall cattle

Synonyms

booth, carrel, carrell, conk, cubicle, dilly-dally, dillydally, drag one's feet, drag one's heels, kiosk, procrastinate, sales booth, shillyshally, stalling, stand, bay, boose, delay, penelopize, postpone, put off, space, spot

Anagrams of stall