stop
♦♦♦ stop /st'ɒp/ (stops stopping stopped)
1 [VERB] V -ing, V -ing, V -ing, V n, V
If you have been doing something and then you stop doing it, you no longer do it.
He can't stop thinking about it...
I've been told to lose weight and stop smoking...
I stopped working last year to have a baby...
Does either of the parties want to stop the fighting?...
She stopped in mid-sentence.
2 [VERB] V n, V n, V n -ing, V n from -ing
If you stop something happening, you prevent it from happening or prevent it from continuing.
He proposed a new diplomatic initiative to try to stop the war...
If the fire isn't stopped, it could spread to 25,000 acres...
I think she really would have liked to stop us seeing each other...
Motherhood won't stop me from pursuing my acting career...
3 [VERB] V, V
If an activity or process stops, it is no longer happening.
The rain had stopped and a star or two was visible over the mountains...
The system overheated and filming had to stop...
4 [VERB] V, V n
If something such as machine stops or is stopped, it is no longer moving or working.
The clock had stopped at 2.12 a.m...
Arnold stopped the engine and got out of the car...
5 [VERB] V, V, V n
When a moving person or vehicle stops or is stopped, they no longer move and they remain in the same place.
The car failed to stop at an army checkpoint...
He stopped and let her catch up with him...
The event literally stopped the traffic...
= halt
6 [N-SING] to a N
If something that is moving comes to a stop or is brought to a stop, it slows down and no longer moves.
People often wrongly open doors before the train has come to a stop...
He slowed the car almost to a stop.
= halt
7 [VERB] V to-inf, V to-inf, V
If someone does not stop to think or to explain, they continue with what they are doing without taking any time to think about or explain it.
She doesn't stop to think about what she's saying...
There is something rather strange about all this if one stops to consider it...
People who lead busy lives have no time to stop and reflect.
= pause
8 [VERB] V adv
If you say that a quality or state stops somewhere, you mean that it exists or is true up to that point, but no further.
The cafe owner has put up the required `no smoking' signs, but thinks his responsibility stops there...
= end
9 [N-COUNT] oft supp N
A stop is a place where buses or trains regularly stop so that people can get on and off.
They waited at a bus stop.
10 [VERB] V prep/adv
If you stop somewhere on a journey, you stay there for a short while.
He insisted we stop at a small restaurant just outside of Atlanta...
11 [N-COUNT] usu with supp
A stop is a time or place at which you stop during a journey.
The last stop in Mr Cook's lengthy tour was Paris...
12 [N-COUNT] usu pl
In music, organ stops are the knobs at the side of the organ, which you pull or push in order to control the type of sound that comes out of the pipes.
13 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone will stop at nothing to get something, you are emphasizing that they are willing to do things that are extreme, wrong, or dangerous in order to get it.
Their motive is money, and they will stop at nothing to get it.
14 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you pull out all the stops, you do everything you can to make something happen or succeed.
New Zealand police vowed yesterday to pull out all the stops to find the killer.
15 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you put a stop to something that you do not like or approve of, you prevent it from happening or continuing.
His daughter should have stood up and put a stop to all these rumours.
16 [PHRASE] know inflects
If you say that someone does not know when to stop, you mean that they do not control their own behaviour very well and so they often annoy or upset other people.
Like many politicians before him, Mr Bentley did not know when to stop...
17
to stop dead: see dead
to stop short of: see short
to stop someone in their tracks: see trackbus stop (bus stops)
[N-COUNT]
A bus stop is a place on a road where buses stop to let passengers on and off.full stop (full stops)
[N-COUNT]
A full stop is the punctuation mark . which you use at the end of a sentence when it is not a question or exclamation. (BRIT; in AM, use period)pit stop (pit stops)
[N-COUNT]
In motor racing, if a driver makes a pit stop, he or she stops in a special place at the side of the track to get more fuel and to make repairs.
He had to make four pit stops during the race.rest stop (rest stops)
1 [N-COUNT]
On a long journey by road, a rest stop is a short period when you stop and leave your vehicle, for example to eat or go to the toilet.
2 [N-COUNT]
A rest stop is a place beside a motorway or freeway where you can buy petrol and other things, or have a meal. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use services)stop by
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n, V P
If you stop by somewhere, you make a short visit to a person or place. (INFORMAL)
Perhaps I'll stop by the hospital...
I'll stop by to see Leigh before going home.stop off
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
If you stop off somewhere, you stop for a short time in the middle of a journey.
The president stopped off in Poland on his way to Munich for the economic summit.stop press
Stop press is sometimes printed next to an article in a newspaper to indicate that this is very recent news and was added after the rest of the newspaper had been printed. (BRIT)
STOP PRESS-Crisis in Chechnya.truck stop (truck stops)
[N-COUNT]
A truck stop is a place where drivers, especially truck or lorry drivers, can stop, for example to rest or to get something to eat. (mainly AM)
1 [VERB] V -ing, V -ing, V -ing, V n, V
If you have been doing something and then you stop doing it, you no longer do it.
He can't stop thinking about it...
I've been told to lose weight and stop smoking...
I stopped working last year to have a baby...
Does either of the parties want to stop the fighting?...
She stopped in mid-sentence.
2 [VERB] V n, V n, V n -ing, V n from -ing
If you stop something happening, you prevent it from happening or prevent it from continuing.
He proposed a new diplomatic initiative to try to stop the war...
If the fire isn't stopped, it could spread to 25,000 acres...
I think she really would have liked to stop us seeing each other...
Motherhood won't stop me from pursuing my acting career...
3 [VERB] V, V
If an activity or process stops, it is no longer happening.
The rain had stopped and a star or two was visible over the mountains...
The system overheated and filming had to stop...
4 [VERB] V, V n
If something such as machine stops or is stopped, it is no longer moving or working.
The clock had stopped at 2.12 a.m...
Arnold stopped the engine and got out of the car...
5 [VERB] V, V, V n
When a moving person or vehicle stops or is stopped, they no longer move and they remain in the same place.
The car failed to stop at an army checkpoint...
He stopped and let her catch up with him...
The event literally stopped the traffic...
= halt
6 [N-SING] to a N
If something that is moving comes to a stop or is brought to a stop, it slows down and no longer moves.
People often wrongly open doors before the train has come to a stop...
He slowed the car almost to a stop.
= halt
7 [VERB] V to-inf, V to-inf, V
If someone does not stop to think or to explain, they continue with what they are doing without taking any time to think about or explain it.
She doesn't stop to think about what she's saying...
There is something rather strange about all this if one stops to consider it...
People who lead busy lives have no time to stop and reflect.
= pause
8 [VERB] V adv
If you say that a quality or state stops somewhere, you mean that it exists or is true up to that point, but no further.
The cafe owner has put up the required `no smoking' signs, but thinks his responsibility stops there...
= end
9 [N-COUNT] oft supp N
A stop is a place where buses or trains regularly stop so that people can get on and off.
They waited at a bus stop.
10 [VERB] V prep/adv
If you stop somewhere on a journey, you stay there for a short while.
He insisted we stop at a small restaurant just outside of Atlanta...
11 [N-COUNT] usu with supp
A stop is a time or place at which you stop during a journey.
The last stop in Mr Cook's lengthy tour was Paris...
12 [N-COUNT] usu pl
In music, organ stops are the knobs at the side of the organ, which you pull or push in order to control the type of sound that comes out of the pipes.
13 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone will stop at nothing to get something, you are emphasizing that they are willing to do things that are extreme, wrong, or dangerous in order to get it.
Their motive is money, and they will stop at nothing to get it.
14 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you pull out all the stops, you do everything you can to make something happen or succeed.
New Zealand police vowed yesterday to pull out all the stops to find the killer.
15 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you put a stop to something that you do not like or approve of, you prevent it from happening or continuing.
His daughter should have stood up and put a stop to all these rumours.
16 [PHRASE] know inflects
If you say that someone does not know when to stop, you mean that they do not control their own behaviour very well and so they often annoy or upset other people.
Like many politicians before him, Mr Bentley did not know when to stop...
17
to stop dead: see dead
to stop short of: see short
to stop someone in their tracks: see trackbus stop (bus stops)
[N-COUNT]
A bus stop is a place on a road where buses stop to let passengers on and off.full stop (full stops)
[N-COUNT]
A full stop is the punctuation mark . which you use at the end of a sentence when it is not a question or exclamation. (BRIT; in AM, use period)pit stop (pit stops)
[N-COUNT]
In motor racing, if a driver makes a pit stop, he or she stops in a special place at the side of the track to get more fuel and to make repairs.
He had to make four pit stops during the race.rest stop (rest stops)
1 [N-COUNT]
On a long journey by road, a rest stop is a short period when you stop and leave your vehicle, for example to eat or go to the toilet.
2 [N-COUNT]
A rest stop is a place beside a motorway or freeway where you can buy petrol and other things, or have a meal. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use services)stop by
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n, V P
If you stop by somewhere, you make a short visit to a person or place. (INFORMAL)
Perhaps I'll stop by the hospital...
I'll stop by to see Leigh before going home.stop off
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
If you stop off somewhere, you stop for a short time in the middle of a journey.
The president stopped off in Poland on his way to Munich for the economic summit.stop press
Stop press is sometimes printed next to an article in a newspaper to indicate that this is very recent news and was added after the rest of the newspaper had been printed. (BRIT)
STOP PRESS-Crisis in Chechnya.truck stop (truck stops)
[N-COUNT]
A truck stop is a place where drivers, especially truck or lorry drivers, can stop, for example to rest or to get something to eat. (mainly AM)