stale
1not fresh; vapid or flat, as beverages; dry or hardened, as bread.
musty; stagnant: stale air.
having lost novelty or interest; hackneyed; trite: a stale joke.
having lost freshness, vigor, quick intelligence, initiative, or the like, as from overstrain, boredom, or surfeit: He had grown stale on the job and needed a long vacation.
Law. having lost force or effectiveness through absence of action, as a claim.
to make or become stale.
Origin of stale
1Other words for stale
Opposites for stale
Other words from stale
- stalely, adverb
- staleness, noun
Other definitions for stale (2 of 2)
(of livestock, especially horses) to urinate.
Origin of stale
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use stale in a sentence
With him it was one favorite little joke which never staled.
Ladies and Gentlemen | Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury) CobbHis aging muscles, staled by thirty-odd years of lack of practice at such tricks, merely made it jerky and forced.
Sundry Accounts | Irvin S. CobbIt is a matter of fact that besides being most intense, it is most enduring, growing, and never staled by custom.
Thoughts on Religion | George John RomanesThe game of prying fork-tines staled on them one by one, and they took to songs, mostly of love and parting.
The Jimmyjohn Boss and Other Stories | Owen WisterThe humour of this joke never staled, and they parted with hoots and guffaws of laughter.
Miss Mapp | Edward Frederic Benson
British Dictionary definitions for stale (1 of 2)
/ (steɪl) /
(esp of food) hard, musty, or dry from being kept too long
(of beer, etc) flat and tasteless from being kept open too long
(of air) stagnant; foul
uninteresting from overuse; hackneyed: stale clichés
no longer new: stale news
lacking in energy or ideas through overwork or lack of variety
banking (of a cheque) not negotiable by a bank as a result of not having been presented within six months of being written
law (of a claim, etc) having lost its effectiveness or force, as by failure to act or by the lapse of time
to make or become stale
Origin of stale
1Derived forms of stale
- stalely, adverb
- staleness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for stale (2 of 2)
/ (steɪl) /
(intr) (of livestock) to urinate
the urine of horses or cattle
Origin of stale
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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