stall

plural stalls

1. countableA compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed.

   Synonyms: boose

2. A stable; a place for cattle.

   His Fellow ſought what Lodging he could find: At laſt he found a Stall where oxen ſtood, And that he rather choſe than lie abroad.

   1700, [John] Dryden, “The Cock and the Fox: Or, The Tale of the Nun’s Priest, from Chaucer”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 231

3. A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale.

   Now he goes on, and ſings of fairs and ſhows, For ſtill new fairs before his eyes aroſe. How pedlars' ſtalls with glitt'ring toys are laid, The various fairings of the country maid.

   1714, J[ohn] Gay, “Saturday; or, The Flights”, in The Shepherd’s Week. In Six Pastorals, London: […] R. Burleigh […], →OCLC, page 57, lines 71–74

4. countableA small open-fronted shop, for example in a market, food court, etc.

   He looked in vain into the stalls for the butcher who had sold fresh meat twice a week, on market days [...]

   1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC

   1 more example

   Despite the swift backpedalling of the university, the original notice given to stall operators is suggestive of the potential existence of 'a growing English-speaking elite' that is 'happy to maintain the importance of the English language'.

   2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 3

5. A small partitioned space or roomlet used for a shower or a toilet.

   Rabbit eases from the king-size bed, goes into their bathroom with its rose-colored one-piece Fiberglas tub and shower stall, and urinates into the toilet of a matching rose porcelain.

   1990, John Updike, Rabbit at Rest

   Synonyms: cubicle, cubicle

6. countableA 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.
7. GermaniclifestyleAn Heathen altar, typically an indoor one, as contrasted with a more substantial outdoor harrow.

   Stalli (STAL-i) - Altar.

   2006, Mark Puryear, The Nature of Asatru: An Overview of the Ideals and Philosophy of the Indigenous Religion of Northern Europe, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 237

   2 more examples

   In a private rite, a ring is drawn on the ground around a harrow or before an indoor stall.

   1989, Edred Thorsson, A Book of Troth, Llewellyn Publications, →ISBN, page 156

   Some Asatruar kindreds call their indoor altars stalls and their outdoor altars harrows.

   2006, Selene Silverwind, “Asatruar Tools and Practices”, in Everything you need to know about Paganism, David & Charles, →ISBN, page 117

8. A seat in a church, especially one next to the chancel or choir, reserved for church officials and dignitaries.
9. A church office that entitles the incumbent to the use of a church stall.

   1910 [1840], Alexandre Dumas, père, translator not mentioned, Celebrated Crimes: Urbain Grandier, P. F. Collier edition, When he had been some months installed there as a priest-in-charge, he received a prebendal stall, thanks to the same patrons, in the collegiate church of Sainte-Croix.

   1 more example

   He had battled like a man, and gotten a man's reward — no silver tea-pots or salvers, with flowery inscriptions setting forth his virtues and the appreciation of a genteel parish; no fat living or stall, for which he never looked, and didn't care; […]

   1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days

10. A sheath to protect the finger.
11. businessThe space left by excavation between pillars.
12. A parking stall; a space for a vehicle in a parking lot or parkade.

    Synonyms: bay, space, spot

13. obsoletethieves slangSynonym of stallsman (“an accomplice”).

    The "super" or watch is passed to a stall, who hurries away, while the "dip" continues on the car. No sign of recognition passes between the members of the mob when at work.

    1909, Ignatz Leo Nascher, The Wretches of Povertyville: A Sociological Study of the Bowery, page 204

    Synonyms: stallsman

present singular third person stalls · participle present stalling · participle past stalled · past stalled

1. transitiveTo put (an animal, etc.) in a stall.

   to stall an ox

   1 more example

   But Niſus hit the Turns with happier haſte, And thoughtleſs of his Friend, the Foreſt paſs'd: And Alban Plains, from Alba's Name ſo call'd, Where King Latinus then his Oxen ſtall'd.

   1697, Virgil, “The Ninth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 479, lines 523–526

2. To fatten.

   to stall cattle

3. obsoleteTo live in, or as if in, a stall; to dwell.

   I must perforce Haue ſhewne to thee ſuch a declining day, Or looke on thine: we could not ſtall together In the whole world.

   c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 364, column 2

4. To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install.

   Deck'd in thy rights , as thou art stall'd in mine

   c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]

5. To forestall; to anticipate.

   This is not to be staled by my report, This only must be told: […]

   1636 (first performance; published 1655), Philip Massinger, “The Bashful Lover”, in W[illiam] Gifford, editor, The Plays of Philip Massinger, […], volume IV, London: […] G[eorge] and W[illiam] Nicol; […] by W[illiam] Bulmer and Co. […], published 1805, →OCLC, Act IV, scene iii, page 427

6. To keep close; to keep secret.

   You haue diſcharg'd this honeſtlie, keepe it to your ſelfe, […] praie you leaue mee, ſtall this in your boſome, and I thanke you for your honeſt care: I will ſpeake with you further anon.

   c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 233, column 2

plural stalls

1. An action that is intended to cause, or actually causes, delay.

   His encounters with security, reception, the secretary, and the assistant were all stalls until the general manager's attorney arrived.

2. aeronauticsLoss of lift due to an airfoil's critical angle of attack being exceeded, normally occurring due to low airspeed.

   The only way to account for it is a structural breakup in flight, a stall, a spin, a death spiral as we call it.

   1999 July 20, Mark Tran, “Did Kennedy's plane plunge in a 'death spiral'?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   1 more example

   The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the asymmetric stall and the ensuing roll of the aircraft because of the uncommanded retraction of the left wing outboard leading edge slats and the loss of stall warning and slat disagreement indication systems resulting from maintenance-induced damage leading to the separation of the No. 1 engine and pylon assembly at a critical point during takeoff. The separation resulted from damage by improper maintenance procedures which led to failure of the pylon structure.

   1979 December 21, National Transportation Safety Board, “3.2 Probable Cause”, in Aircraft Accident Report: American Airlines, Inc., DC-10-10, N110AA, Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1979, archived from the original on 17 Aug 2022, page 69

present singular third person stalls · participle present stalling · participle past stalled · past stalled

1. transitiveTo employ delaying tactics against.

   He stalled the creditors as long as he could.

2. intransitiveTo employ delaying tactics; to stall for time.

   Soon it became clear that she was stalling to give him time to get away.

   1 more example

   See the look on my face From staying too long in one place But every time I try to leave I find I keep on stalling

   2007, KT Tunstall, “Saving My Face”, in Drastic Fantastic

3. intransitiveTo come to a standstill.

   But both projects have stalled, with no indication of how they would be funded.

   2023 September 20, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Mayor backs southern rail link for Heathrow Airport”, in RAIL, number 992, page 24

   2 more examples

   On the long 1 in 100 ascent from Staveley to Heath she nearly stalled, and having taken 67¼ min. to cover the 38.2 miles to Nottingham instead of the 51 min. scheduled she gave up the ghost, and came off the train.

   1960 April 28, O. S. Nock, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 271 ("she" refers to a locomotive)

   [...] the 4-4-0 unhappily stalled after a stop on Reading Old Bank with its eight-coach load and the Reading Up Line pilot, a "Hall", had to bank the train into Reading General.

   1960 July, “Motive Power Miscellany: Western Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 443

4. transitiveTo cause to stop making progress; to hinder; to slow down; to delay or forestall.

   Long stretches of the railroad south from Hankow were torn up by bombs from Chennault’s planes, and their attacks limited traffic to nighttime on the parallel Hsiang River. The combined efforts of the Chinese troops at Heng-yang and Chennault’s pilots effectively stalled the Japanese advance.

   2001, “Ichigo, Operation”, in Stanley Sandler, editor, World War II In the Pacific: Encyclopedia, Garland Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 429

   1 more example

   In Barnhouse's mind, their screwed-up childhoods have left homosexuals stalled at an adolescent point in the normal progression of psycho-social development. Unable to attain the "normal" gender identification and separation from mother, they are forced to lead incomplete lives and thus remain "immature."

   1977 December 10, Eric Rogers, “'Tolerant' Rhetoric Masks Anti-Gay Bias”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 23, page 13

5. intransitiveaeronauticsTo exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in loss of lift.

   1 more example

   The thrust levers were advanced, the first officer selected the go-around mode for the flight director, and he started to increase the pitch of the aircraft to the command bar indications, 10 degrees nose up. About one second after the first officer acknowledged the go-around, the stick shaker (stall warning) activated. As the aircraft reached 10 degrees nose up, about one and one-half seconds after the stick shaker activated, the captain called flaps and selected them to the go-around setting, the warbler tone associated with the stall protection system (SPS) sounded, and the aircraft stalled aerodynamically. The aircraft rolled right to approximately 55 degrees of bank, and the right wing tip contacted the runway about 2700 feet from the threshold and 45 feet left of the centre line, the right wing tip bending upwards about four feet from the tip.

   1999 April 15, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, “1.1 History of the Flight”, in Aviation Investigation Report A97H0011, Loss of Control on Go-around (Rejected Landing), Air Canada Canadair CL-600-2B19 C-FSKI, Fredericton Airport, New Brunswick, 16 December 1997, archived from the original on 02 Sep 2022, pages 1–2

6. transitiveaeronauticsTo cause to exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in loss of lift.

   The pilot stalled the plane by pulling the nose up too high at a slow airspeed.

7. To plunge into mire or snow so as not to be able to get on; to set; to fix.

   to stall a cart

   1 more example

   His horses had been stalled in the snow.

   1884, Edward Everett Hale, The Fortunes of Rachel

8. intransitiveTo stop suddenly.
9. transitiveautomotiveTo cause the engine of a manual-transmission car or truck to stop by going too slowly for the selected gear.
10. obsoleteTo be stuck, as in mire or snow; to stick fast.
11. obsoleteTo be tired of eating, as cattle.