stag

[ stag ]
See synonyms for: stagstaggedstaggingstags on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. an adult male deer.

  2. a man who attends a social gathering unaccompanied by a woman.

  1. Informal. stag party.

  2. a domesticated boar or bull castrated after maturation of the sexual organs.

  3. British. a speculator who buys securities of a new issue in the hope of selling them quickly at a higher price.

verb (used without object),stagged, stag·ging.
  1. Informal. (of a man) to attend a social function without a female companion.

adjective
  1. of or for men only: a stag dinner.

  2. intended for male audiences and usually pornographic in content: a stag show.

adverb
  1. without a companion or date: to go stag to a dance.

Origin of stag

1
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English stagge; akin to Old Norse steggi, steggr “male bird” (giving rise to northern English dialect steg “gander”), Icelandic steggur “male fox, tomcat”

Other words from stag

  • staglike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use stag in a sentence

  • A horse ought in my opinion to be quite seven years old, to take his turn regularly once a week stagging.

  • Charlie had been stagging with her for the last two months, and knocked her all to pieces.

    Phineas Redux | Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for stag

stag

/ (stæɡ) /


noun
  1. the adult male of a deer, esp a red deer

  2. a man unaccompanied by a woman at a social gathering

  1. stock exchange, British

    • a speculator who applies for shares in a new issue in anticipation of a rise in price when trading commences in order to make a quick profit on resale

    • (as modifier): stag operations

  2. (modifier) (of a social gathering) attended by men only

  3. (modifier) pornographic in content: a stag show

adverb
  1. without a female escort

verb(tr)
  1. stock exchange to apply for (shares in a new issue) with the intention of selling them for a quick profit when trading commences

Origin of stag

1
Old English stagga (unattested); related to Old Norse steggr male bird

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with stag

stag

In addition to the idiom beginning with stag

  • stage fright
  • stage whisper
  • stag party

also see:

  • go stag

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.