Definition of: stop

(stop) v. stopped or (chiefly Poetic) stopt, stop·ping v.t.
1. To bring (something in motion) to a halt; arrest the progress of: to stop an automobile.
2. To prevent the doing or completion of: to stop a revolution.
3. To prevent (a person) from doing something; restrain.
4. To keep back, withhold, or cut off, as wages or supplies.
5. To cease doing; desist from; discontinue: Stop that!
6. To intercept in transit, as a letter.
7. To block up, obstruct, or clog (a passage, road, etc.): often with up.
8. To fill in, cover over, or otherwise close, as a hole, cavity, etc.
9. To close (a bottle, barrel, etc.) with a cork, plug, or other stopper.
10. To stanch (a wound, etc.).
11. To order a bank not to pay or honor: to stop a check.
12. To defeat; also, to kill.
13. Music To press down (a string) on the finger-board, or to close (a finger hole) in order to vary pitch.
14. To punctuate.
15. In boxing, etc., to parry.
—v.i.
16. To come to a halt; cease progress or motion.
17. To cease doing something; pause or desist.
18. To come to an end. See synonyms under ABIDE, ARREST, CEASE, END, HINDER¹, OBSTRUCT, REST¹, SHUT, STAND, SUSPEND.
—to stop off To stop for a brief stay before continuing on a trip or journey.
—to stop over Colloq.
1. To stay at a place temporarily.
2. To interrupt a journey; make a stopover.
—noun
1. The act of stopping, or the state of being stopped; a halt; pause; cessation; end.
2. That which stops or limits the range or time of a movement: a camera stop; an obstruction or obstacle; a hindrance.
3. Music The pressing down of a string or the closing of an aperture on a musical instrument, to change the pitch of the tone emitted; a key, lever, or handle for stopping a string or an aperture; a fret for a guitar.
4. Music In an organ, a set of pipes or reeds producing tones of the same quality, and arranged in regular musical progression.
5 a Brit. A punctuation mark; a period. b In cables, etc., a period.
6. In joinery, a block, pin, or the like to check sliding motion, as of a drawer.
7. Naut. A small line for lashing or fastening anything temporarily on a ship.
8. Phonet. a Complete blockage of the breath stream (implosion), as with the lips or tongue, followed by a sudden release (explosion). b A consonant so produced; a plosive: opposed to continuant. The stops in English are the bilabials (p) and (b), the alveolars (t) and (d), and the velars (k) and (g); the nasals (m) and (n) may also be included in this category.
9. In dogs, the short incline between the forepart of the skull and the face. See illustration under DOG.
10. plural A card game in which certain cards, called stop cards, terminate play when they appear: a variety of newmarket. [OE -stoppian, as in forstoppian stop up]