"stay" in the noun sense
1. stay
continuing or remaining in a place or state
"they had a nice stay in Paris"
"a lengthy hospital stay"
"a four-month stay in bankruptcy court"
2. arrest, check, halt, hitch, stay, stop, stoppage
the state of inactivity following an interruption
"the negotiations were in arrest"
"held them in check"
"during the halt he got some lunch"
"the momentary stay enabled him to escape the blow"
"he spent the entire stop in his seat"
3. stay
a judicial order forbidding some action until an event occurs or the order is lifted
"the Supreme Court has the power to stay an injunction pending an appeal to the whole Court"
4. stay
a thin strip of metal or bone that is used to stiffen a garment (e.g. a corset)
5. stay
nautical) brace consisting of a heavy rope or wire cable used as a support for a mast or spar
"stay" in the verb sense
1. stay, remain, rest
stay the same remain in a certain state
"The dress remained wet after repeated attempts to dry it"
"rest assured"
"stay alone"
"He remained unmoved by her tears"
"The bad weather continued for another week"
2. stay, stick, stick around, stay put
stay put (in a certain place we are not moving to Cincinnati"
"We are staying in Detroit
"Stay put in the corner here!"
"Stick around and you will learn something!"
3. bide, abide, stay
dwell
"You can stay with me while you are in town"
"stay a bit longer
4. stay, stay on, continue, remain
continue in a place, position, or situation
"After graduation, she stayed on in Cambridge as a student adviser"
"Stay with me, please"
"despite student protests, he remained Dean for another year"
"She continued as deputy mayor for another year"
5. stay
remain behind
"I had to stay at home and watch the children"
6. stay, detain, delay
stop or halt
"Please stay the bloodshed!"
7. persist, remain, stay
stay behind
"The smell stayed in the room"
"The hostility remained long after they made up"
8. last out, stay, ride out, outride
hang on during a trial of endurance
"ride out the storm"
9. stay
stop a judicial process
"The judge stayed the execution order"
10. stay
fasten with stays
11. quell, stay, appease
overcome or allay
"quell my hunger"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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