stale

¹ American  

[steyl] / steɪl /

adjective

staler, stalest

1. not fresh; vapid or flat, as beverages; dry or hardened, as bread.

   Synonyms:

   insipid, sour, tasteless, hard

   Antonyms:

   fresh

2. musty; stagnant.

   stale air.

3. having lost novelty or interest; hackneyed; trite.

   a stale joke.

   Synonyms:

   common, old, stereotyped, uninteresting

4. 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.

5. Law. having lost force or effectiveness through absence of action, as a claim.

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verb (used with or without object)

staled, staling

1. to make or become stale.

stale ² American  

[steyl] / steɪl /

verb (used without object)

staled, staling

1. (of livestock, especially horses) to urinate.

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stale ¹ British  

/ steɪl /

adjective

1. (esp of food) hard, musty, or dry from being kept too long

2. (of beer, etc) flat and tasteless from being kept open too long

3. (of air) stagnant; foul

4. uninteresting from overuse; hackneyed

   stale clichés

5. no longer new

   stale news

6. lacking in energy or ideas through overwork or lack of variety

7. banking (of a cheque) not negotiable by a bank as a result of not having been presented within six months of being written

8. law (of a claim, etc) having lost its effectiveness or force, as by failure to act or by the lapse of time

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verb

1. to make or become stale

stale ² British  

/ steɪl /

verb

1. (intr) (of livestock) to urinate

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noun

1. the urine of horses or cattle

Other Word Forms

• stalely adverb
• staleness noun

Etymology

Origin of stale¹

1250–1300; Middle English; akin to Middle Dutch stel in same sense; perhaps akin to stand or to stale ²

Origin of stale²

1400–50; late Middle English stalen to urinate; cognate with German stallen, Danish stalle, Norwegian, Swedish stalla

Explanation

If something is stale, it's no longer fresh. Ever bite into a piece of bread that's been left out a little too long? Chances are it's stale, or dry and hard to eat. Try making some croutons out of it. The word stale comes from the Old French estaler meaning "to halt," which is what happens to your jaw when you try and bite down on a piece of stale bread — it just can't chew through it. But stale isn't a word that's used only when talking about food. When an idea is stale, it's old or boring. And when a horse stales, it's not old and crusty, it's urinating. Step aside.

Example Sentences

Scenario discussion at the press conference: Minutes are published with a delay, so they can be perceived as stale.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026

Scratchy and stiff, it stinks of the stale urine used to set the dye.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The sky was the color of cotton candy, but the stale kind that’s been hardening in a plastic bag for days after the fair.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

By the time Coppola readied her pivotal first film, “The Virgin Suicides,” Jacobs was crowned the powerhouse creative director of Louis Vuitton, tasked with infusing a stale heritage luxury brand with youthful energy.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

The room was cold and the air had a sour stale odor—the mixed smells of kerosene and silver polish and tobacco.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

Related Words

• corny
• dull
• hackneyed
• shopworn
• threadbare
• tired