10 VERB If you stop somewhere on a journey, you stay there for a short while. □ [V prep/adv] He insisted we stop at a small restaurant just outside of Atlanta.
11 N‑COUNT A stop is a time or place at which you stop during a journey. □ The last stop in Mr Cook's lengthy tour was Paris.
12 N‑COUNT [usu pl] In music, organ stops are the knobs at the side of the organ, which you pull or push in order to control the type of sound that comes out of the pipes.
13 PHRASE If you say that someone will stop at nothing to get something, you are emphasizing that they are willing to do things that are extreme, wrong, or dangerous in order to get it. [EMPHASIS ] □ Their motive is money, and they will stop at nothing to get it.
14 PHRASE If you pull out all the stops , you do everything you can to make something happen or succeed. □ New Zealand police vowed yesterday to pull out all the stops to find the killer.
15 PHRASE If you put a stop to something that you do not like or approve of, you prevent it from happening or continuing. □ His daughter should have stood up and put a stop to all these rumours.
16 PHRASE If you say that someone does not know when to stop , you mean that they do not control their own behaviour very well and so they often annoy or upset other people. □ Like many politicians before him, Mr Bentley did not know when to stop.
17 to stop dead → see dead
18 to stop short of → see short ➊
19 to stop someone in their tracks → see track
▸ stop by PHRASAL VERB If you stop by somewhere, you make a short visit to a person or place. [INFORMAL ] □ [V P n] Perhaps I'll stop by the hospital. □ [V P ] I'll stop by to see Leigh before going home.
▸ stop off PHRASAL VERB If you stop off somewhere, you stop for a short time in the middle of a journey. □ [V P ] She stopped off in Poland on her way to Munich.
stop|cock /stɒ pkɒk/ (stopcocks ) N‑COUNT A stopcock is a tap on a pipe, which you turn in order to allow something to pass through the pipe or to stop it from passing through.
stop|gap /stɒ pgæp/ (stopgaps ) N‑COUNT A stopgap is something that serves a purpose for a short time, but is replaced as soon as possible. □ Gone are the days when work was just a stopgap between leaving school and getting married.
sto p-go in AM, also use stop-and-go ADJ [usu ADJ n] Stop-go is used to describe processes in which there are periods of inactivity between periods of activity. □ …stop-go economic cycles.
stop|light /stɒ pla I t/ (stoplights ) also stop light
1 N‑COUNT A stoplight is a set of coloured lights which controls the flow of traffic on a road. [AM ] in BRIT, use traffic light 2 N‑COUNT The stoplights on a car or other vehicle are the two red lights at the back. [AM ] in BRIT, use tail-lights
stop|over /stɒ poʊvə r / (stopovers ) N‑COUNT A stopover is a short stay in a place in between parts of a journey. □ The Sunday flights will make a stopover in Paris.
stop|page /stɒ p I dʒ/ (stoppages )
1 N‑COUNT When there is a stoppage , people stop working because of a disagreement with their employers. [BUSINESS ] □ Mineworkers in the Ukraine have voted for a one-day stoppage next month.
2 N‑COUNT In football and some other sports, when there is a stoppage , the game stops for a short time, for example because a player is injured. The referee may add some extra time at the end of the game because of this. [mainly BRIT ] in AM, use time out
stop|per /stɒ pə r / (stoppers )
1 N‑COUNT A stopper is a piece of glass, plastic, or cork that fits into the top of a bottle or jar to close it. □ …a bottle of colourless liquid sealed with a cork stopper.
2 → see also showstopper
sto p pre ss Stop press is sometimes printed next to an article in a newspaper to indicate that this is very recent news and was added after the rest of the newspaper had been printed. [BRIT ] □ STOP PRESS: The Government has called a snap election.
stop|watch /stɒ pwɒtʃ/ (stopwatches ) also stop-watch N‑COUNT A stopwatch is a watch with buttons which you press at the beginning and end of an event, so that you can measure exactly how long it takes.
stor|age /stɔː r I dʒ/
1 N‑UNCOUNT If you refer to the storage of something, you mean that it is kept in a special place until it is needed. □ [+ of ] …the storage of toxic waste. □ Some of the space will at first be used for storage. □ The collection has been in storage for decades.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Storage is the process of storing data in a computer. □ [+ of ] His task is to ensure the fair use and storage of personal information held on computer.
3 → see also cold storage
store ◆◆◇ /stɔː r / (stores , storing , stored )
1 N‑COUNT A store is a building or part of a building where things are sold. In British English, store is used mainly to refer to a large shop selling a variety of goods, but in American English a store can be any size of shop. □ …grocery stores. □ …a record store.
2 VERB When you store things, you put them in a container or other place and leave them there until they are needed. □ [V n prep/adv] Store the cookies in an airtight tin. □ [be V -ed prep/adv] Some types of garden furniture must be stored inside in the winter. [Also V n] ● PHRASAL VERB Store away means the same as store . □ [V n P ] I took a photograph of the plaque and stored it away. □ [V P n] He's stored away nearly one ton of potatoes.