Meanings
alternative stock still
- not comparableVery still; motionless.
The team was stock-still in front of the stable.
Synonyms: at rest, unmoving, at rest, dull, impassive, inanimate, lifeless, motionless
alternative stock still
- idiomaticnot comparableWithout motion.
He lay stock-still among the bodies and blasted equipment.
2 more examples
Paul stood stock still; then came a strong impulse to turn and run back.
1897, Sam T. Clover, Paul Travers' AdventuresNow his fingertips were tapping in addition to his toe-bouncing, until soon his entire body was wibbling in jumping-bean fashion. “Old Mag, you say?” He peered around Nitty at Mag, and Mag took the opportunity to inspect his mask and goggles with her trunk. The boy quit wibbling, stood stock-still, and gulped.
2019 June, Suzanne Nelson, A Tale Magnolious, New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 36
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveVery still; motionless.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbwithout moving or making a sound
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Inversion of earlier still as a stock, from stock (“tree-trunk”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
stock-still. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stock-still
“stock-still.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stock-still. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stock-still,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stock-still.
Source: stock-still on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.