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stopper

[stop-er]
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noun
  1. a person or thing that stops.
  2. a plug, cork, bung, or other piece for closing a bottle, tube, drain, or the like.
  3. Informal. something or someone that commands attention, as an unusual window display or a flamboyant person.
  4. Cards. a card in a suit that prevents the successive taking of all tricks in the suit by the opponents.
  5. Baseball Slang. a formidably and consistently effective pitcher counted on to win, as a team's best starting pitcher or a superior reliever often called on to preserve a victory; pitching ace.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to close, secure, or fit with a stopper.
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Origin of stopper

First recorded in 1470–80; stop + -er1
Related formsstop·per·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stopper

Historical Examples

  • Hurriedly I shot out the remainder of the stopper of straw, and crept from the hole.

    Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood

    George MacDonald

  • "Yes, but don't let's have a stopper over all, Tom," replied his father.

  • He took the stopper out of the decanter and deliberately raised it to his nostrils.

    The Missionary

    George Griffith

  • She pulled aside the "stopper" of newspaper and thrust in the stick.

  • (1 )Turn the stopper through at least one revolution in each direction.

    On Laboratory Arts

    Richard Threlfall

British Dictionary definitions for stopper

stopper

noun
  1. Also: stopple (ˈstɒpəl) a plug or bung for closing a bottle, pipe, duct, etc
  2. a person or thing that stops or puts an end to something
  3. bridge another name for stop (def. 39)
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verb
  1. Also: stopple (tr) to close or fit with a stopper
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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

Word Origin and History for stopper

n.

"glass plug for a bottle neck," 1660s, agent noun from stop (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper