STOP


Meaning of STOP in English

/ stɒp; NAmE stɑːp/ verb , noun

■ verb

( -pp- )

NOT MOVE

1.

to no longer move; to make sb/sth no longer move :

[ v ]

The car stopped at the traffic lights.

We stopped for the night in Port Augusta.

[ vn ]

He was stopped by the police for speeding.

NOT CONTINUE

2.

to no longer continue to do sth; to make sb/sth no longer do sth :

[ v -ing ]

That phone never stops ringing!

Please stop crying and tell me what's wrong.

[ v ]

She criticizes everyone and the trouble is, she doesn't know when to stop .

Can't you just stop?

[ vn ]

Stop me (= make me stop talking) if I'm boring you.

Stop it! You're hurting me.

[ v wh- ]

Mike immediately stopped what he was doing.

HELP NOTE : Notice the difference between stop doing sth and stop to do sth :

We stopped taking pictures.

means 'We were no longer taking pictures.';

We stopped to take pictures.

means 'We stopped what we were doing so that we could start taking pictures.'

END

3.

to end or finish; to make sth end or finish :

[ v ]

When is this fighting going to stop?

The bus service stops at midnight.

[ v -ing ]

Has it stopped raining yet?

[ vn ]

Doctors couldn't stop the bleeding.

The referee was forced to stop the game because of heavy snow.

PREVENT

4.

stop sb/sth (from doing sth) | ( BrE also) stop sb/sth (doing sth) to prevent sb from doing sth; to prevent sth from happening :

[ vn ]

I want to go and you can't stop me.

We need more laws to stop pollution.

There's nothing to stop you from accepting the offer.

There's no stopping us now (= nothing can prevent us from achieving what we want to achieve) .

You can't stop people from saying what they think.

( BrE also) [ vn -ing ]

You can't stop people saying what they think.

FOR SHORT TIME

5.

[ v ] stop (for sth) | stop (to do sth) to end an activity for a short time in order to do sth :

I'm hungry. Let's stop for lunch.

We stopped to admire the scenery.

People just don't stop to think about the consequences.

HELP NOTE : In spoken English, stop can be used with and plus another verb, instead of with to and the infinitive, to show purpose:

He stopped and bought some flowers.

Let's stop and look at the map.

NOT FUNCTION

6.

to no longer work or function; to make sth no longer work or function :

[ v ]

Why has the engine stopped?

I felt as if my heart had stopped.

[ vn ]

I stopped the tape and pressed rewind.

STAY

7.

[ v ] stop (for sth) ( BrE , informal ) to stay somewhere for a short time, especially at sb's house :

I'm not stopping. I just came to give you this message.

Can you stop for tea?

MONEY

8.

[ vn ] stop sth (from sth) to prevent money from being paid :

to stop a cheque (= tell the bank not to pay it)

( BrE )

Dad threatened to stop £1 a week from our pocket money if we didn't clean our rooms.

CLOSE HOLE

9.

[ vn ] stop sth (up) (with sth) to block, fill or close a hole, an opening, etc. :

Stop up the other end of the tube, will you?

I stopped my ears but still heard her cry out.

IDIOMS

- stop at nothing

- stop the clock

- stop short | stop sb short

- stop short of sth / of doing sth

—more at buck noun , track noun

PHRASAL VERBS

- stop by (sth)

- stop in

- stop off (at / in ... )

- stop out

- stop over (at / in ... )

- stop up

■ noun

ACT OF STOPPING

1.

an act of stopping or stopping sth; the state of being stopped :

The trip included an overnight stop in Brussels.

She brought the car to a stop .

Work has temporarily come to a stop while the funding is reviewed.

It is time to put a stop to the violence.

Babies do not grow at a steady rate but in stops and starts .

—see also non-stop , whistle-stop

OF BUS / TRAIN

2.

a place where a bus or train stops regularly for passengers to get on or off :

I get off at the next stop.

Is this your stop?

—see also bus stop , pit stop , request stop

PUNCTUATION

3.

( BrE ) = full stop

MUSIC

4.

a row of pipes on an organ that produce the different sounds

5.

a handle on an organ that the player pushes in or pulls out to control the sound produced by the pipes

PHONETICS

6.

a speech sound made by stopping the flow of air coming out of the mouth and then suddenly releasing it, for example /p, k, t/

SYN plosive

—see also glottal stop

IDIOMS

see full stop , pull verb

••

WORD ORIGIN

Old English (for)stoppian block up (an aperture) , of West Germanic origin; related to German stopfen , from late Latin stuppare to stuff.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.