stale
1
[ steyl ]
/ steɪl /
adjective, stal·er, stal·est.
not fresh; vapid or flat, as beverages; dry or hardened, as bread.
musty; stagnant: stale air.
having lost novelty or interest; hackneyed; trite: a stale joke.
having lost freshness, vigor, quick intelligence, initiative, or the like, as from overstrain, boredom, or surfeit: He had grown stale on the job and needed a long vacation.
Law.
having lost force or effectiveness through absence of action, as a claim.
verb (used with or without object), staled, stal·ing.
to make or become stale.
Origin of stale
1SYNONYMS FOR stale
OTHER WORDS FROM stale
stale·ly, adverb stale·ness, nounWords nearby stale
Definition for stale (2 of 2)
stale
2
[ steyl ]
/ steɪl /
verb (used without object), staled, stal·ing.
(of livestock, especially horses) to urinate.
Origin of stale
2
1400–50; late Middle English
stalen to urinate; cognate with German
stallen, Danish
stalle, Norwegian, Swedish
stalla
Example sentences from the Web for stale
British Dictionary definitions for stale (1 of 2)
stale
1
/ (steɪl) /
adjective
verb
to make or become stale
Derived forms of stale
stalely, adverb staleness, nounWord Origin for stale
C13 (originally applied to liquor in the sense: well matured): probably via Norman French from Old French
estale (unattested) motionless, of Frankish origin; related to
stall
1,
install
British Dictionary definitions for stale (2 of 2)
stale
2
/ (steɪl) /
verb
(intr)
(of livestock) to urinate
noun
the urine of horses or cattle
Word Origin for stale
C15: perhaps from Old French
estaler to stand in one position; see
stall
1; compare Middle Low German
stallen to urinate, Greek
stalassein to drip