I. stay 1 S1 W1 /steɪ/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: ester 'to stand, stay' , from Latin stare ]
1 . IN A PLACE [intransitive] to remain in a place rather than leave:
They stayed all afternoon chatting.
stay (at) home
I decided to stay home.
stay for a year/ten minutes/a week etc
Isabel stayed for a year in Paris to study.
stay in
Stay in bed and drink plenty of liquids.
She stayed late to finish the report.
stay here/there
Stay right there! I’ll be back in a minute.
stay to dinner/stay for lunch etc
Why don’t you stay for supper?
stay behind/after
Some of the students stayed after class (=remained after others had gone) to talk.
stay and do something
I should stay and help.
REGISTER
In written English, people often prefer to use remain rather than stay , because it sounds more formal:
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Many people opted to remain in their homes.
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She remained as his deputy for ten years.
2 . IN A CONDITION [intransitive always + adverb/preposition, linking verb] to continue to be in a particular position, place, or state, without changing SYN remain :
Rollings will stay as chairman this year.
stay adj
Eat right to stay healthy.
It was hard to stay awake.
Nine women gained weight, and four stayed the same.
stay away/in/on etc
Stay away from my daughter!
You stay on this road for a mile before turning off.
stay around
Most of her boyfriends don’t stay around (=stay with her) very long.
3 . LIVE SOMEWHERE [intransitive] to live in a place for a short time as a visitor or guest:
How long are they going to stay?
stay at/with
My mother is staying with us this week.
stay in
They’re staying in the same hotel.
stay the night/stay overnight/stay over (=stay from one evening to the next day)
Did you stay the night at Carolyn’s?
4 . stay put spoken to remain in one place and not move:
Stay put until I get back.
5 . be here to stay to become accepted and used by most people:
Professional women’s basketball is here to stay.
6 . stay after (school) to remain at school after the day’s classes are finished, often as a punishment
7 . stay the course informal to finish something in spite of difficulties:
Dieters should try hard to stay the course.
8 . stay tuned
a) to continue watching or listening to the same television ↑ channel or radio station
b) used to say that you should look or listen for more information about a particular subject at a later time:
The project is still under discussion, so stay tuned.
9 . stay! used to tell a dog not to move
10 . stay sb’s hand literary to stop someone from doing something
11 . stay an order/ruling/execution etc law if a judge stays an order, ruling etc, they stop a particular decision from being used or a particular action from happening ⇨ stay in touch at ↑ touch 2 (4)
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THESAURUS
▪ stay to not leave a place, or to be in a place for a particular period of time:
Stay where you are and don’t move.
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John only stayed at the party for a couple of hours.
▪ remain formal to stay somewhere. In written English, people often prefer to use remain rather than stay , because it sounds more formal:
Some 2,000 protesters remained outside the building and refused to leave.
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The judge recommended that he remain in jail for the rest of his life.
▪ linger to stay in a place a little longer than you need to, because you are enjoying yourself, or because you hope to see someone or something:
He lingered outside the lecture hall, hoping for a chance to talk to her.
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There are plenty of small cafés where you can linger over a cappuccino.
▪ loiter to stay in a place not doing anything – used when you think someone is waiting for the chance to do something bad or illegal:
The two men had been seen loitering in the area on the day that the car was stolen.
▪ hang around informal to stay somewhere not doing anything:
There are gangs of boys hanging around on street corners.
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I don’t mind hanging around for a few minutes.
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The boss doesn’t like being kept hanging around.
▪ stick around informal to stay in the same place or situation for a period of time, especially while you are waiting for something to happen or someone to arrive:
I decided to stick around and see how it all turned out.
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Make up your mind. I’m not going to stick around forever.
stay in phrasal verb
to spend the evening at home rather than go out:
I was tired, so I decided to stay in.
stay on phrasal verb
to continue to do a job or to study after the usual or expected time for leaving:
He resigned as chairman, but stayed on as an instructor.
stay out phrasal verb
1 . to remain away from home during the evening or night:
He started staying out late, drinking.
2 . stay out of something spoken to not get involved in an argument or fight:
You stay out of it. It’s none of your business.
stay up phrasal verb
to not go to bed at the time you would normally go to bed:
We stayed up all night talking.
I let the kids stay up late on Fridays.
II. stay 2 S3 BrE AmE noun
1 . [countable usually singular] a limited time of living in a place
stay in/at
I met her towards the end of my stay in Los Angeles.
long/short/overnight etc stay
a short stay in the hospital
2 . [uncountable and countable] law the stopping or delay of an action because a judge has ordered it
stay of execution (=a delay in punishing someone by killing them)
3 . [countable] a strong wire or rope used for supporting a ship’s ↑ mast
4 . [countable] a short piece of plastic or wire used to keep a shirt ↑ collar stiff
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COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + stay
▪ a long stay
During his long stay in the south, he painted only one portrait.
▪ a short/brief stay
No visa is required for short stays.
▪ an overnight stay
Business trips may involve an overnight stay.
▪ a pleasant/enjoyable stay
Our driver said goodbye and wished us a pleasant stay.
▪ a hospital stay ( also a stay in hospital British English , a stay in the hospital American English )
Sally is back at work after a short stay in hospital.
■ verbs
▪ have a nice/pleasant etc stay
We hope you have a pleasant stay.
▪ extend/prolong your stay (=stay longer)
He could not be persuaded to extend his stay.