stall

noun

1. (countable)A compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed.
2. A stable; a place for cattle.

   “His Fellow ſought what Lodging he could find: At laſt he found a Stall where oxen ſtood, And that he rather choſe than lie abroad.”

3. A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale.

   “Now he goes on, and ſings of fairs and ſhows, For ſtill new fairs before his eyes aroſe. How pedlars' ſtalls with glitt'ring toys are laid, The various fairings of the country maid.”

4. (countable)A small open-fronted shop, for example in a market, food court, etc.

   “He looked in vain into the stalls for the butcher who had sold fresh meat twice a week, on market days [...]”

   “Despite the swift backpedalling of the university, the original notice given to stall operators is suggestive of the potential existence of 'a growing English-speaking elite' that is 'happy to maintain the importance of the English language'.”

5. A small partitioned space or roomlet used for a shower or a toilet.

   “Rabbit eases from the king-size bed, goes into their bathroom with its rose-colored one-piece Fiberglas tub and shower stall, and urinates into the toilet of a matching rose porcelain.”

6. (countable)A seat in a theatre close to and (about) level with the stage; traditionally, a seat with arms, or otherwise partly enclosed, as distinguished from the benches, sofas, etc.
7. (Germanic)An Heathen altar, typically an indoor one, as contrasted with a more substantial outdoor harrow.

   “In a private rite, a ring is drawn on the ground around a harrow or before an indoor stall.”

   “Some Asatruar kindreds call their indoor altars stalls and their outdoor altars harrows.”

   “Stalli (STAL-i) - Altar.”

8. A seat in a church, especially one next to the chancel or choir, reserved for church officials and dignitaries.
9. A church office that entitles the incumbent to the use of a church stall.

   “He had battled like a man, and gotten a man's reward — no silver tea-pots or salvers, with flowery inscriptions setting forth his virtues and the appreciation of a genteel parish; no fat living or stall, for which he never looked, and didn't care; […]”

   “1910 [1840], Alexandre Dumas, père, translator not mentioned, Celebrated Crimes: Urbain Grandier, P. F. Collier edition, When he had been some months installed there as a priest-in-charge, he received a prebendal stall, thanks to the same patrons, in the collegiate church of Sainte-Croix.”

10. A sheath to protect the finger.
11. The space left by excavation between pillars.
12. A parking stall; a space for a vehicle in a parking lot or parkade.
13. An action that is intended to cause, or actually causes, delay.

    “His encounters with security, reception, the secretary, and the assistant were all stalls until the general manager's attorney arrived.”

14. Loss of lift due to an airfoil's critical angle of attack being exceeded, normally occurring due to low airspeed.

verb

1. (transitive)To put (an animal, etc.) in a stall.

   “to stall an ox”

   “But Niſus hit the Turns with happier haſte, And thoughtleſs of his Friend, the Foreſt paſs'd: And Alban Plains, from Alba's Name ſo call'd, Where King Latinus then his Oxen ſtall'd.”

2. To fatten.

   “to stall cattle”

3. (obsolete)To live in, or as if in, a stall; to dwell.

   “I must perforce Haue ſhewne to thee ſuch a declining day, Or looke on thine: we could not ſtall together In the whole world.”

4. To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install.

   “Deck'd in thy rights , as thou art stall'd in mine”

5. To forestall; to anticipate.

   “This is not to be staled by my report, This only must be told: […]”

6. To keep close; to keep secret.

   “You haue diſcharg'd this honeſtlie, keepe it to your ſelfe, […] praie you leaue mee, ſtall this in your boſome, and I thanke you for your honeſt care: I will ſpeake with you further anon.”

7. (transitive)To employ delaying tactics against.

   “He stalled the creditors as long as he could.”

8. (intransitive)To employ delaying tactics; to stall for time.

   “Soon it became clear that she was stalling to give him time to get away.”

   “See the look on my face From staying too long in one place But every time I try to leave I find I keep on stalling”

9. (intransitive)To come to a standstill.

   “On the long 1 in 100 ascent from Staveley to Heath she nearly stalled, and having taken 67¼ min. to cover the 38.2 miles to Nottingham instead of the 51 min. scheduled she gave up the ghost, and came off the train.”

   “[...] the 4-4-0 unhappily stalled after a stop on Reading Old Bank with its eight-coach load and the Reading Up Line pilot, a "Hall", had to bank the train into Reading General.”

   “But both projects have stalled, with no indication of how they would be funded.”

10. (transitive)To cause to stop making progress; to hinder; to slow down; to delay or forestall.

    “In Barnhouse's mind, their screwed-up childhoods have left homosexuals stalled at an adolescent point in the normal progression of psycho-social development. Unable to attain the "normal" gender identification and separation from mother, they are forced to lead incomplete lives and thus remain "immature."”

    “Long stretches of the railroad south from Hankow were torn up by bombs from Chennault’s planes, and their attacks limited traffic to nighttime on the parallel Hsiang River. The combined efforts of the Chinese troops at Heng-yang and Chennault’s pilots effectively stalled the Japanese advance.”

11. (intransitive)To exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in loss of lift.
12. (transitive)To cause to exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in loss of lift.

    “The pilot stalled the plane by pulling the nose up too high at a slow airspeed.”

13. To plunge into mire or snow so as not to be able to get on; to set; to fix.

    “to stall a cart”

    “His horses had been stalled in the snow.”

14. (intransitive)To stop suddenly.
15. (transitive)To cause the engine of a manual-transmission car or truck to stop by going too slowly for the selected gear.
16. (obsolete)To be stuck, as in mire or snow; to stick fast.
17. (obsolete)To be tired of eating, as cattle.