1. Be in the same place or state for an extended period of time
   "stay alone";
   - remain, rest
    
2. Dwell or remain for a time
   "You can stay with me while you are in town"; "stay a bit longer — the day is still young";
   - bide [archaic], abide [archaic]
    
3. Be in the same place, position, or situation for longer
   "After graduation, she stayed on in Cambridge as a student adviser"; "Stay with me, please";
   - stay on, continue, remain
    
4. Remain in the same place or position
   "We are staying in Detroit; we are not moving to Cincinnati"; "Stay put in the corner here!";
   - stick, stick around, stay put, remain
    
5. Stop or prevent from proceeding or leaving
   "Please stay the bloodshed!";
   - detain, delay
    
6. Stop a judicial process
   "The judge stayed the execution order"
    
7. Overcome or allay
   "The small meal stayed his hunger";
   - quell, appease
    
8. Fasten with stays
   "They stayed the mast to prevent it from falling"

1. Continuing or remaining in a place or state
   "a four-month stay in bankruptcy court"; "they had a nice stay in Paris"; "a lengthy hospital stay"
    
2. The state of inactivity following an interruption
   "the momentary stay enabled him to escape the blow";
   - arrest, check, halt, hitch, stop, stoppage
    
3. (law) a judicial order forbidding 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. A thin strip of metal or bone that is used to stiffen a garment (e.g. a corset)
   "The corset's stays gave it a rigid structure"
    
5. (nautical) a rope or cable that supports a ship's mast or spar
   "The crew tightened the stays before the storm"

Derived forms: staying, stays, stayed

Type of: act, be, block, brace, bracing, check, conform to, decree, deed, delay, edict, exist, fasten, fiat, fill, fit, fix, fulfil [Brit, Cdn], fulfill [N. Amer], halt, human action, human activity, inaction, inactiveness, inactivity, kibosh [informal], kybosh [informal], meet, order, rescript, retard, satisfy, secure, slip, stay in place, stop, strip

Encyclopedia: Stay, Kentucky