stay¹ /stā/

1. To remain, continue to be, in a place, position or condition
2. To reside temporarily, as in stay at a hotel
3. To live, dwell (Scot and S Afr)
4. To wait in order to participate in or be present at
5. To pause, wait, tarry
6. To be kept waiting
7. To wait, attend as a servant (Shakespeare)
8. To stop, cease, desist (archaic)
9. To stand firm (archaic)
10. To hold out, last, endure
11. (in a race, etc) to maintain one's pace over a long distance
12. To keep pace or keep up (with with)
13. (in poker) to match a bet in order to stay in the game

1. To reside, remain for a specific period, as in stay for a week
2. To hold, restrain, check the action of
3. To delay or hinder
4. To stop, suspend, discontinue or postpone (judgement, proceedings, etc)
5. To hold in abeyance
6. To endure or remain to the end
7. To satisfy, appease or allay
8. To quell, suppress (archaic)
9. To stop for, be stopped by (archaic)
10. To detain (archaic)
11. To await (archaic)

1. (a period of) staying, temporary residence
2. A visit
3. A sojourn
4. A suspension or postponement of legal proceedings
5. A check or restraint
6. The act of stopping or being stopped
7. Staying power, endurance
8. An obstacle (obsolete)
9. A permanent state (obsolete)

stayˈer noun

A person or animal (esp a horse or greyhound) of good lasting or staying qualities for a race

stayˈ-at-home adjective

1. Keeping much at home
2. Tending or preferring to stay at home, in one's own area or country
3. Untravelled, unadventurous

noun

A stay-at-home person

stayˈaway noun (S Afr)

1. A strike
2. A person participating in a strike

staying power noun

The ability to continue or sustain effort, esp over a long period, without flagging

stay-on tab noun

A ring pull that does not pull entirely off, but bends into the can

stay stitching noun (dressmaking)

A line of stitching in the seam allowance to prevent stretching and fraying of the fabric

be here (or have come) to stay

To have become permanent or established

stay in

To remain at home

stay on

To remain, tarry after the normal or expected time for departing

stay out

1. To remain away from home
2. To remain throughout or beyond the end of

stay over (informal)

To remain overnight, stay the night

stay put

Not to move from the place or position in which one has been put

stay someone's hand (literary)

To stop someone on the point of doing something

stay the course

To endure to the end of the race or other trial of one's stamina and staying power

stay up

To remain out of bed and awake after the normal time of going to sleep

stay² /stā/

1. A prop or support
2. One of a number of strips of bone or metal sewn into a corset to stiffen it
3. (in pl) a corset thus stiffened (often pair of stays)

1. To prop or support (with up)
2. To sustain, comfort, strengthen (with up; archaic or literary)
3. To cause to rely or depend (with upon; archaic)

stayed adjective

Wearing stays

stayˈless adjective

1. Without stays
2. Unsupported

stay bolt noun

A bolt or rod binding together opposite plates

stay lace noun

A lace for fastening a corset

stayˈmaker noun

A maker of corsets

stay tape noun

A stay lace

stay³ /stā/ (nautical)

1. A rope bracing a mast, etc, a guy
2. A brace generally

To brace or support (a mast, etc) using stays

1. To bring the head of a sailing vessel up to the wind in order to tack or go about
2. (of a mast) to incline (forward)

staysail /stāˈsl/ noun

A triangular, auxiliary fore-and-aft sail spread or set on a stay

stayˈ-tackle noun

Hoisting tackle hung from a ship's mainmast

at short (or long) stay

(of an anchor cable) taut and leading to the anchor at a steep (or acute) angle near (or at some distance away from) the bow

in stays

(of a sailing vessel during tacking) hanging with head to windward without moving to the opposite tack

miss (or refuse) stays

(of a sailing vessel) to fail in going about from one tack to another

• prettify
• prettifying
• prettily
• prettiness
• prettinesses
• pretty
• prettying
• prettyish
• prettyism
• prettyisms
• pretty kettle of fish
• pretty much
• pretty nearly
• pretty-pretties
• pretty-prettiness
• pretty-pretty
• pretty-spoken
• pretty well
• pretzel
• pretzels
• preux chevalier
• prevail
• prevailed
• prevailing
• prevailingly