stall

B1 Topic:Shopping & Services

US /stɔl/ UK /stɔːl/ See IPA manual

Freq #5881

Meanings

1

noun
A small open shop or table where goods are sold, especially in a market.

She bought fresh fruit from a market stall.
2

verb
To stop running suddenly, or to make an engine stop.

The car stalled at the traffic lights.
3

verb
To delay doing something on purpose.

He kept stalling instead of giving us an answer.
4

noun
A small enclosed space, such as for a shower or toilet.

Only one shower stall was working at the gym.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to stop running suddenly,... conk

4 noun · a small enclosed space,... cubicle

More delaypenelopizepostpone procrastinate

Word family

Forms stalledstallingstalls

Derived forms antistalbookstallbuckstallchoirstallcowstallfarmstallfoodstallfootstall forestallgreen-stallheadstallhomestall

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

shower stall
a small enclosed space fitted for taking a shower

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English stallen (“to abide, dwell, place in a location, stop, come to a standstill”), partly from Old French estaler, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1 (see above); and partly from Middle English stalle (“fixed position, stall”).

stallen Middle English estaler Old French stalle Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Shopping & Services

External links

# stall

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /stɔl/
**IPA (UK):** /stɔːl/
**Frequency rank:** 5881

## Meanings
1. A small open shop or table where goods are sold, especially in a market.
2. To stop running suddenly, or to make an engine stop.
3. To delay doing something on purpose.
4. A small enclosed space, such as for a shower or toilet.

## Examples
- She bought fresh fruit from a market stall.
- The car stalled at the traffic lights.
- He kept stalling instead of giving us an answer.
- Only one shower stall was working at the gym.

## Synonyms
- delay
- penelopize
- postpone
- procrastinate

## Derived Forms
- antistal
- bookstall
- buckstall
- choirstall
- cowstall
- farmstall
- foodstall
- footstall
- forestall
- green-stall
- headstall
- homestall

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: stallen
- Root: estaler
- Root: stalle

## Etymology
From Middle English stallen (“to abide, dwell, place in a location, stop, come to a standstill”), partly from Old French estaler, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1 (see above); and partly from Middle English stalle (“fixed position, stall”).

## AI Etymology
Stall is from Middle English stallen (“to abide, dwell, place in a location, stop, come to a standstill”), partly from Old French estaler, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1 (see above); and partly from Middle English stalle (“fixed position, stall”). In present-day use, it can mean a small open shop or table where goods are sold, especially in a market, or to stop running suddenly, or to make an engine stop.

## Topics
- Shopping & Services

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