stale
1[ steyl ]
/ steɪl /
adjective, stal·er, stal·est.
not 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.
verb (used with or without object), staled, stal·ing.
to make or become stale.
Words nearby stale
Origin of stale
1SYNONYMS FOR stale
OTHER WORDS FROM stale
stale·ly, adverbstale·ness, nounDefinition for staled (2 of 2)
stale2
[ steyl ]
/ steɪl /
verb (used without object), staled, stal·ing.
(of livestock, especially horses) to urinate.
Origin of stale
21400–50; late Middle English stalen to urinate; cognate with German stallen, Danish stalle, Norwegian, Swedish stalla
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for staled
British Dictionary definitions for staled (1 of 2)
stale1
/ (steɪl) /
adjective
verb
to make or become stale
Derived forms of stale
stalely, adverbstaleness, nounWord Origin for stale
C13 (originally applied to liquor in the sense: well matured): probably via Norman French from Old French estale (unattested) motionless, of Frankish origin; related to stall 1, install
British Dictionary definitions for staled (2 of 2)
stale2
/ (steɪl) /
verb
(intr) (of livestock) to urinate
noun
the urine of horses or cattle
Word Origin for stale
C15: perhaps from Old French estaler to stand in one position; see stall 1; compare Middle Low German stallen to urinate, Greek stalassein to drip
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