stops

stop  (stp)

v. stopped, stop·ping, stops

v.tr.

1. To close (an opening or hole) by covering, filling in, or plugging up: The tea leaves stopped the drain.

2. To constrict (an opening or orifice): My nose is stopped up.

3. To obstruct or block passage on (a road, for example).

4. To prevent the flow or passage of: stop supplies from getting through.

5.

a. To halt the motion or progress of: stopped me and asked directions.

b. To block or deflect (a blow, for example); parry or ward off.

c. To be or get in the way of (a bullet or other missile); be killed or wounded by.

6.

a. To cause to desist or to change a course of action: stopped us from continuing the argument.

b. To prevent or restrain: stopped him from going.

7. To discontinue or cease: He stopped his complaining.

8.

a. To defeat (an opponent or opposing team).

b. To defeat in boxing by a knockout or technical knockout.

9. To order a bank to withhold payment of: stopped the check.

10. Music

a. To press down (a string on a stringed instrument) on the fingerboard to produce a desired pitch.

b. To close (a hole on a wind instrument) with the finger in sounding a desired pitch.

v.intr.

1. To cease moving, progressing, acting, or operating; come to a halt: The clock stopped in the night.

2. To put an end to what one is doing; cease: had to stop at an exciting place in the book.

3. To interrupt one's course or journey for a brief visit or stay. Often used with by, in, or off: stop by at a friend's house; stop in at the office; stop off at the gas station.

n.

1. The act of stopping or the condition of being stopped; cessation.

2. A finish; an end.

3. A stay or visit, as one taken during a trip.

4. A place at which someone or something stops: a regular stop on my paper route; a bus stop.

5. A device or means that obstructs, blocks, or plugs up.

6. An order given to a bank to withhold payment on a check.

7. A part in a mechanism that stops or regulates movement.

8. The effective aperture of a lens, controlled by a diaphragm.

9. A mark of punctuation, especially a period.

10. Music

a. The act of stopping a string or hole on an instrument.

b. A fret on a stringed instrument.

c. A hole on a wind instrument.

d. A device such as a key for closing the hole on a wind instrument.

e. A tuned set of pipes, as in an organ.

f. A knob, key, or pull that regulates such a set of pipes.

11. Nautical A line used for securing something temporarily: a sail stop.

12.

a. Linguistics One of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal.

b. A plosive.

13. The depression between the muzzle and top of the skull of an animal, especially a dog.

14. Sports A save made by a goalie.

15. Games A stopper.

16. Architecture A projecting stone, often carved, at the end of a molding.

adj.

Of, relating to, or being of use at the end of an operation or activity: a stop code.

Phrasal Verbs:

stop down

To reduce (the aperture) of a lens.

stop out

To withdraw temporarily from college.

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[Middle English stoppen, from Old English -stoppian, probably from Vulgar Latin *stuppre, to caulk, from Latin stuppa, tow, broken flax, from Greek stupp.]

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stoppa·ble adj.

Synonyms: stop, cease, desist, discontinue, halt¹, quit
These verbs mean to bring or come to an end: stop arguing; ceased crying; desist from complaining; discontinued the treatment; halting the convoy; quit laughing.

Antonym: start

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stops [stɒps]

n

(Group Games / Card Games) (functioning as singular) any one of several card games in which players must play their cards in certain sequences

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

stops - a gambling card game in which chips are placed on the ace and king and queen and jack of separate suits (taken from a separate deck); a player plays the lowest card of a suit in his hand and successively higher cards are played until the sequence stops; the player who plays a card matching one in the layout wins all the chips on that card boodle, Chicago, Newmarket, Michigan card game, cards - a game played with playing cards