v.
(stops, stopping, stopped)
- come or cause to come to an end.
▸discontinue an action, practice, or habit.
- prevent from happening or from doing something.
▸instruct a bank to withhold payment on (a cheque).
▸refuse to supply as usual.
▸Boxing defeat (an opponent) by a knockout.
- cease or cause to cease moving or operating.
▸(of a bus or train) call at a designated place to pick up or set down passengers.
▸Brit. informal stay somewhere for a short time.
- block or close up (a hole or leak).
▸plug the upper end of (an organ pipe), giving a note an octave lower.
- obtain the required pitch from (the string of a violin or similar instrument) by pressing at the appropriate point with the finger.
n.
- an act of stopping.
▸a place designated for a bus or train to stop.
- an object or part of a mechanism which prevents movement.
▸Bridge a high card that prevents the opponents from establishing a particular suit.
▸Nautical a stopper.
- Phonetics a consonant produced with complete closure of the vocal tract.
- a set of organ pipes of a particular tone and range of pitch.
▸
(also stop knob)
a knob, lever, etc. in an organ or harpsichord which brings into play a set of pipes or strings of a particular tone and range of pitch.
- Photography the effective diameter of a lens.
▸a device for reducing this.
▸a unit of change of relative aperture or exposure.
Phrase
- pull out all the stops
make a very great effort to achieve something.
[with ref. to the stops of an organ.]
- put a stop to
cause to end. - stop dead
(or short)
suddenly cease moving, speaking, or acting.
Phrase verbal
- stop by
(or in)
call briefly as a visitor. - stop something down
Photography reduce the aperture of a lens with a diaphragm. - stop off
(or over)
pay a short visit en route to one's destination. - stop out
Brit. informal stay out later than expected. - stop something out
cover an area that is not to be printed or etched.
Derivative
Etymology
OE (for)stoppian ‘block up (an aperture)’, of W. Gmc origin, from late L. stuppare ‘to stuff’.
