stop (stops plural & 3rd person present) (stopping present participle) (stopped past tense & past participle )
1 verb If you have been doing something and then you stop doing it, you no longer do it.
He can't stop thinking about it... V -ing
I've been told to lose weight and stop smoking... V -ing
I stopped working last year to have a baby... V -ing
Does either of the parties want to stop the fighting?... V n
She stopped in mid-sentence. V
2 verb 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... V n
If the fire isn't stopped, it could spread to 25,000 acres... V n
I think she really would have liked to stop us seeing each other... V n -ing
Motherhood won't stop me from pursuing my acting career... V n from -ing
3 verb 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... V
The system overheated and filming had to stop... V
4 verb 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... V
Arnold stopped the engine and got out of the car... V n
5 verb When a moving person or vehicle stops or is stopped, they no longer move and they remain in the same place.
(=halt)
The car failed to stop at an army checkpoint... V
He stopped and let her catch up with him... V
The event literally stopped the traffic... V n
6 n-sing If something that is moving comes to a stop or is brought to a stop, it slows down and no longer moves.
to a N
(=halt)
People often wrongly open doors before the train has come to a stop..., He slowed the car almost to a stop.
7 verb If someone does not stopto think or to explain, they continue with what they are doing without taking any time to think about or explain it.
(=pause)
She doesn't stop to think about what she's saying... V to-inf
There is something rather strange about all this if one stops to consider it... V to-inf
People who lead busy lives have no time to stop and reflect. V
8 verb 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.
(=end)
The cafe owner has put up the required `no smoking' signs, but thinks his responsibility stops there... V adv
9 n-count A stop is a place where buses or trains regularly stop so that people can get on and off.
oft supp N
They waited at a bus stop.
10 verb 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... V prep/adv
11 n-count A stop is a time or place at which you stop during a journey.
usu with supp
The last stop in Mr Cook's lengthy tour was Paris...
12 n-count 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.
usu pl
13 If you say that someone will stop at nothingto get something, you are emphasizing that they are willing to do things that are extreme, wrong, or dangerous in order to get it.
stop at nothing phrase V inflects (emphasis)
Their motive is money, and they will stop at nothing to get it.
14 If you pull out all the stops, you do everything you can to make something happen or succeed.
pull out all the stops phrase V inflects
New Zealand police vowed yesterday to pull out all the stops to find the killer.
15 If you put a stop to something that you do not like or approve of, you prevent it from happening or continuing.
put a stop to sth phrase V inflects
His daughter should have stood up and put a stop to all these rumours.
16 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.
know when to stop phrase know inflects
Like many politicians before him, Mr Bentley did not know when to stop...
17 →
to stop dead →
dead →
to stop short of →
short →
to stop someone in their tracks →
track stop by phrasal verb If you stop by somewhere, you make a short visit to a person or place. INFORMAL Perhaps I'll stop by the hospital... V P n I'll stop by to see Leigh before going home. V P stop off phrasal verb 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. V P
bus stop (bus stops plural )A bus stop is a place on a road where buses stop to let passengers on and off. n-count
full stop (full stops plural )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) n-count
in AM, use period
non-stop , nonstop
Something that is non-stop continues without any pauses or interruptions. adj
Many US cities now have non-stop flights to Aspen., ...80 minutes of non-stop music..., The training was non-stop and continued for three days.
Non-stop is also an adverb., adv ADV after v
Amy and her group had driven non-stop through Spain..., The snow fell non-stop for 24 hours.
one-stop
A one-stop shop is a place where you can buy everything you need for a particular purpose. adj ADJ n
A marvellous discovery for every bride-to-be, The Wedding Centre is the ultimate one-stop shop.
pit stop (pit stops plural )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. n-count
He had to make four pit stops during the race.
rest stop (rest stops plural )
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-go
in AM, also use stop-and-go
Stop-go is used to describe processes in which there are periods of inactivity between periods of activity. adj usu ADJ n
...stop-go economic cycles.
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<endash>Crisis in Chechnya.
truck stop (truck stops plural )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) n-count
whistle-stop
If someone, especially a politician, goes on a whistle-stop tour, they visit a lot of different places in a short time. adj ADJ n
