- present participle of stop.
stopping
Americannoun
noun
-
informal a dental filling
-
a solid barrier in a mine tunnel to seal off harmful gases, fire, fresh air from used air, etc
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of stopping
1700–05; special use of stopping, verbal noun of stop; see -ing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Its powerful Revolutionary Guards have been stopping vessels trying to transit the trade route in recent days, including six that state television on Monday said had sailed outside Iran's designated route.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
In its own discussions, English football felt that merely stopping players going to the technical area would not deter coaches from using goalkeepers to break up play.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Zelensky has long tried to get a license to manufacture Patriot interceptors, which are Ukraine’s only reliable way of stopping ballistic missiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
“After stopping the attack, they immediately transitioned from addressing the threat to providing lifesaving medical care until firefighters arrived.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Nim ordered, and ran all the way to the cave and back again without even stopping to look out to sea.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
There were so many things going on with the police stoppings and stuff at the time, and it just really hit me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2020
Smith also likes to push his clarinet above top C or to engage in a series of strangely manipulated double and triple stoppings.
From Time Magazine Archive
When she speaks she is really charming, and I do love her gold stoppings.
From A Young Girl's Diary by Paul, Eden
There were no stoppings, no delays, no pain, and no aunt.
From The Pastor's Wife by Arnim, Elizabeth von
And so, unprofitably, the journey was beguiled, not without frequent stoppings and refreshings, each of which had the effect of exhilarating Whipcord’s spirits and making Masham’s tongue looser and looser.
From My Friend Smith A Story of School and City Life by Reed, Talbot Baines
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
