1. (noun)stay continuing or remaining in a place or state "they had a nice stay in Paris"; "a lengthy hospital stay"; "a four-month stay in bankruptcy court"
2. (noun)arrest, check, halt, hitch, stay, stop, stoppage the state of inactivityfollowing an interruption "the negotiations were in arrest"; "held them in check"; "during the halt he got some lunch"; "the momentary stay enabled him to escape the blow"; "he spent the entire stop in his seat"
3. (noun)stay a judicial orderforbidding some action until an event occurs or the order is lifted
"the Supreme Court has the power to stay an injunction pending an appeal to the whole Court"
4. (noun)stay a thin strip of metal or bone that is used to stiffen a garment (e.g. a corset)
6. (verb)stay, remain, rest stay the same; remain in a certain state "The dress remained wet after repeated attempts to dry it"; "rest assured"; "stay alone"; "He remained unmoved by her tears"; "The bad weather continued for another week"
7. (verb)stay, stick, stick around, stay put stay put (in a certain place)
"We are staying in Detroit; we are not moving to Cincinnati"; "Stay put in the corner here!"; "Stick around and you will learn something!"
8. (verb)bide, abide, stay dwell
"You can stay with me while you are in town"; "stay a bit longer--the day is still young"
9. (verb)stay, stay on, continue, remain continue in a place, position, or situation "After graduation, she stayed on in Cambridge as a student adviser"; "Stay with me, please"; "despite student protests, he remained Dean for another year"; "She continued as deputy mayor for another year"
10. (verb)stay remain behind "I had to stay at home and watch the children"
11. (verb)stay, detain, delay stop or halt "Please stay the bloodshed!"
12. (verb)persist, remain, stay staybehind "The smell stayed in the room"; "The hostility remained long after they made up"
13. (verb)last out, stay, ride out, outride hang on during a trial of endurance "ride out the storm"
14. (verb)stay stop a judicial process "The judge stayed the execution order"
Definition of 'stay':
