stale
1[ steyl ]
/ steɪl /
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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.
OTHER WORDS FOR stale
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Origin of stale
1OTHER WORDS FROM stale
stalely, adverbstaleness, nounOther definitions for stale (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. 2023
How to use stale in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for stale (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 stale (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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