STACK


Meaning of STACK in English

I. ˈstak noun

Etymology: Middle English stak, from Old Norse stakkr; akin to Russian stog stack and probably to Old English staca stake

Date: 14th century

1. : a large usually conical pile (as of hay, straw, or grain in the sheaf) left standing in the field for storage

2.

a. : an orderly pile or heap

b. : a large quantity or number

3. : an English unit of measure especially for firewood that is equal to 108 cubic feet

4.

a. : a number of flues embodied in one structure rising above a roof

b. : a vertical pipe (as to carry off smoke)

c. : the exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine

5.

a. : a structure of bookshelves for compact storage of books — usually used in plural

b. plural : a section of a building housing such structures

6. : a pile of poker chips

7.

a. : a memory or a section of memory in a computer for temporary storage in which the last item stored is the first retrieved ; also : a data structure that simulates a stack

a push-down stack

b. : a computer memory consisting of arrays of memory elements stacked one on top of another

II. verb

Date: 14th century

transitive verb

1.

a. : to arrange in a stack : pile

b. : to pile in or on

stack ed the table with books

stack the dishwasher

2.

a. : to arrange secretly for cheating

stack a deck of cards

b. : to arrange or fix so as to make a particular result likely

the odds are stack ed against us

will stack juries to suit themselves — Patrice Horn

3.

a. : to assign (an airplane) by radio to a particular altitude and position within a group circling before landing

b. : to put into a waiting line

another dozen rigs are stack ed up and waiting — P. H. Hutchins, Jr.

4. : compare — used with against

such a crime is nothing when stack ed against a murder — Pete Censky

intransitive verb

: to form a stack

• stack·er noun

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.