Dictionary.com

stale

1
[ steyl ]
/ steɪl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR stale

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.

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Origin of stale

1
1250–1300; Middle English; akin to Middle Dutch stel in same sense; perhaps akin to stand or to stale2

ANTONYMS FOR stale

1 fresh.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR stale

OTHER WORDS FROM stale

stalely, adverbstaleness, noun

Definition for stale (2 of 2)

stale2
[ steyl ]
/ steɪl /

verb (used without object), staled, stal·ing.

(of livestock, especially horses) to urinate.

Origin of stale

2
1400–50; 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. 2020

Words related to stale

watery, smelly, sour, stagnant, musty, hackneyed, tired, corny, threadbare, dull, shopworn, dry, stinking, spoiled, rank, parched, dried, faded, reeking, antiquated

Example sentences from the Web for stale

British Dictionary definitions for stale (1 of 2)

stale1
/ (steɪl) /

adjective

verb

to make or become stale

Derived forms of stale

stalely, adverbstaleness, noun

Word 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
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