stop by

Idioms and Phrases

Also, stop in . Pay a brief visit, as in I hope you'll stop by this afternoon , or He stopped in at Martha's whenever he came to New York on business . The first term dates from about 1900, the variant from the mid-1800s.

Related Words

• call
• call on
• frequent
• hit
• inspect
• play
• see
• stay at
• talk
• tour

More About Stop By

What does stop by mean?

Stop by means to briefly or casually visit a place or to stay there for a short time.

A person who stops by a place doesn’t stay there for very long, as in She promised to at least stop by whenever she was in town. 

Sometimes, the phrase implies that it is done as one of several stops, as in I might stop by the post office on my way to the grocery store.

The similar phrase stop in has the same meaning as stop by, as in Janet stopped in just to say hello. 

The phrases stop over, drop by, drop in, and drop over often mean the same thing.

In many cases, these terms imply that the visit was unannounced or unexpected, as in You’ll never guess who stopped by earlier. 

Sometimes, the words stop and by appear next to each other in a sentence when they are not being used as a phrase. In these cases, the word by is being used as a preposition meaning something like at or next to, as in Stop by that orange cone there. 

Example: Did your sister every stop by to get that saw that we borrowed?

Where does stop by come from?

The first records of the verb phrase stop by come from around 1900. The first records of stop in come from around the same time. Both of these phrases use the word stop to mean “pause” or “halt.”

However, this stop is a temporary one—or at least it’s intended or implied to be. In many cases, when a person stops by a place, it’s as one of multiple stops they are making. Sometimes, though, when a person says they are going to stop by, the visit ends up being much longer than anticipated. On the other hand, stop by is sometimes used when a person doesn’t want to or can’t commit to visiting, as in I might stop by today if I get the chance.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for stop by?

• stop in
• stop over
• drop by
• drop in
• drop over
• swing by 
• pop in

What are some words that share a root or word element with stop by? 

• stop
• by

What are some words that often get used in discussing stop by?

• visit
• briefly
• short
• time
• office
• house

How is stop by used in real life?

Stop by is typically used in the context of short visits or brief stays. It sometimes implies that such a visit was unannounced.

A week or 2 ago a lady’s card kept getting declined so I paid for her items and gas. Today she stopped by the store and left me a gift 🥺

— elisa (@ohhreallyelisa) December 20, 2019

Thanks for stopping by, Joel! Means a lot! #TeachWithHeart

— Kim Keller (@KimKell16594089) December 4, 2020

Please put Saturday, December 19th on your calendar and plan on stopping by the LSM parking lot from 10am-2pm to help us “Stuff a Bus” with toys and non-perishable food. Monetary donations will also be accepted. Please help us support our community during the holidays! Thank you.

— Regional School District #10 (@RSD10CT) December 4, 2020

 

 

Try using stop by!

Is stop by used correctly in the following sentence?

My cousin stopped by for tea but he had to leave for an appointment.