stay

¹ American  

[stey] / steɪ /

verb (used without object)

stayed, staid, staying

1. to spend some time in a place, in a situation, with a person or group, etc..

   He stayed in the army for ten years.

2. to continue to be as specified, as to condition or state.

   to stay clean.

3. to hold out or endure, as in a contest or task (followed by with orat ).

   Please stay with the project as long as you can.

4. to keep up, as with a competitor (followed bywith ).

5. Poker. to continue in a hand by matching an ante, bet, or raise.

6. to stop or halt.

7. to pause or wait, as for a moment, before proceeding or continuing; linger or tarry.

8. Archaic. to cease or desist.

9. Archaic. to stand firm.

---

verb (used with object)

stayed, staid, staying

1. to stop or halt.

2. to hold back, detain, or restrain, as from going further.

3. to suspend or delay (actions, proceedings, etc.).

4. to appease or satisfy temporarily the cravings of (the stomach, appetite, etc.).

5. to remain through or during (a period of time).

   We stayed two days in San Francisco.

6. to remain to the end of; remain beyond (usually followed byout ).

7. Archaic. to await.

noun

1. the act of stopping or being stopped.

2. a stop, halt, or pause; a standstill.

3. a sojourn or temporary residence.

   a week's stay in Miami.

4. Law. a stoppage or arrest of action; suspension of a judicial proceeding.

   The governor granted a stay of execution.

5. Informal. staying power; endurance.

idioms

1. stay the course, to persevere; endure to completion.

stay ² American  

[stey] / steɪ /

noun

1. something used to support or steady a thing; prop; brace.

2. a flat strip of steel, plastic, etc., used especially for stiffening corsets, collars, etc.

3. a long rod running between opposite walls, heads or sides of a furnace, boiler, tank, or the like, to strengthen them against internal pressures.

4. Chiefly British. stays, a corset.

---

verb (used with object)

stayed, staying

1. to support, prop, or hold up (sometimes followed byup ).

2. to sustain or strengthen mentally or spiritually.

3. to rest on (something, as a foundation or base) for support.

4. to cause something to become fixed or to rest on (a support, foundation, base, etc.)

stay ³ American  

[stey] / steɪ /

noun

1. any of various strong ropes or wires for steadying masts, funnels, etc.

---

verb (used with object)

stayed, staying

1. to support or secure with a stay or stays.

   to stay a mast.

2. to put (a ship) on the other tack.

verb (used without object)

stayed, staying

1. (of a ship) to change to the other tack.

idioms

1. in stays, (of a fore-and-aft-rigged vessel) heading into the wind with sails shaking, as in coming about.

stay ¹ British  

/ steɪ /

verb

1. (intr) to continue or remain in a certain place, position, etc

   to stay outside

2. (copula) to continue to be; remain

   to stay awake

3. to reside temporarily, esp as a guest

   to stay at a hotel

4. (tr) to remain for a specified period

   to stay the weekend

5. (intr) to reside permanently or habitually; live

6. archaic to stop or cause to stop

7. (intr) to wait, pause, or tarry

8. (tr) to delay or hinder

9. (tr)

   1. to discontinue or suspend (a judicial proceeding)

   2. to hold in abeyance or restrain from enforcing (an order, decree, etc)

10. to endure (something testing or difficult, such as a race)

    a horse that stays the course

11. to keep pace (with a competitor in a race, etc)

12. (intr) poker to raise one's stakes enough to stay in a round

13. (tr) to hold back or restrain

    to stay one's anger

14. (tr) to satisfy or appease (an appetite, etc) temporarily

15. archaic (tr) to quell or suppress

16. archaic (intr) to stand firm

17. See put

---

noun

1. the act of staying or sojourning in a place or the period during which one stays

2. the act of stopping or restraining or state of being stopped, etc

3. the suspension of a judicial proceeding, etc

   stay of execution

stay ² British  

/ steɪ /

noun

1. anything that supports or steadies, such as a prop or buttress

2. a thin strip of metal, plastic, bone, etc, used to stiffen corsets, etc

---

verb

1. (often foll by up) to prop or hold

2. (often foll by up) to comfort or sustain

3. to cause to rely or depend

stay ³ British  

/ steɪ /

noun

1. a rope, cable, or chain, usually one of a set, used for bracing uprights, such as masts, funnels, flagpoles, chimneys, etc; guy See also stays stays

---

stay More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing stay

• (stay on one's) right side
• (stay) in touch
• here to stay
• should have stood (stayed) in bed
• stick (stay) with

---

Etymology

Origin of stay¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English staien, from Anglo-French estaier, Old French ester, from Latin stāre “to stand, stand up, be standing, stand in attendance”; see origin at stand

Origin of stay²

First recorded in 1505–15; apparently same as stay ³ (compare Old French estayer “to hold in place, support”), or perhaps derivative of Middle English steye “rope to steady a mast”; stay ³

Origin of stay³

First recorded before 1150; Middle English stai, stey(e), Old English stæg; cognate with German Stag, Dutch stag, Old Norse stag

Explanation

To stay is to remain or wait in the same place. When you tell your dog to stay, you expect her to keep sitting until you call her over. You can stay in the short term, like when you stay in your seat even though you're antsy, or in the long term, like when you decide to stay in Missouri after you graduate from college. You can also stay calm or stay out of trouble. Legally, to stay is to delay or suspend proceedings, like when a judge stays a decision. A less-common meaning of stay is "a support," from the Middle French estaie, "wood used as a support."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stay staid stayed staying

“When you watch Joshua Van fight, his expression never changes — he always tries to stay in control. And that proves just how good you are.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

McKeown plans to stay in the area, a place he describes as "marvellous, with wonderful, welcoming people."

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

That is to stay above police helicopters, under commercial flights, and still have enough space in case they need to perform an emergency autorotation procedure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

As high pressure holds on across the south, many will stay largely dry and warm here through the rest of the week.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Nine, oblivious to the Recollection, said, “Then don’t go, fox. Just… stay here. Who’s to stop you? You’ve got to think for yourself. Be your own boss.”

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

It would be hard to find a more L.A. scene than the one playing out downtown in the normally staid Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez United States Courthouse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Before Ms. Parton, most female country singers cultivated staid, reserved images and achieved success with heartbreak ballads.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The aim was to expand U.S. influence in Europe, promote ideas suppressed behind the Iron Curtain and, more specifically, expose Soviet culture as staid and doctrinaire.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

But he’ll return, as a ghost, to criticize his son, who, admittedly, has grown staid and stale in his life, his marriage and his work, whatever that’s been.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

I could escape the stage-managed multilateral meetings and sit-downs with leaders and find new ways to bring a little extra warmth to those otherwise staid visits.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

The home, run by the Catholic Sisters of Nazareth, received funding from Southampton social services, as well as fees paid by the families of women who stayed there.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Afraid to enter their own home, Mark and Rita stayed with a friend for another month or so.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

“The experience was deeply traumatic, and its impact has stayed with us. Today’s decision is not about the compensation, but about accountability and recognition,” the statement read.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Yields, he added, had stayed “within pretty narrow ranges all things considered.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Father stayed in the front room with his Bible.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

The Eurovision final has consistently been one of the UK's most popular music events, with millions staying up late to watch the final result.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Truist’s bottom line is that the weight of the evidence supports staying aligned with the longer-term market uptrend.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Software developers have more staying power than it may seem, in part because most software development isn’t about writing code, the Journal said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

In it Khalaili, an Israeli Arab, thanked the viewers back home for staying up late to watch his team win in Argentina.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

“And will you, Duane the polar bear, be staying here?”

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Related Words

• continue
• delay
• hang
• last
• linger
• remain
• reside
• settle
• stand
• stick around
• stop