stall

The word “stall” means a small stand or booth where goods are sold, as in a market. In plain terms, a market booth or animal pen, or — as a verb — to stop working (like an engine) or to deliberately delay.

“Stall” is pronounced stawl (/stɔl/ in IPA).

Here is “stall” used in a sentence: “She bought fresh strawberries from a stall at the farmers' market.”

Words with a similar meaning to “stall” include delay, postpone, put off, penelopize and procrastinate.

Depending on how it is used, “stall” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “stall” comes from Old English. From Old English steall, meaning "standing place" or "position," related to German Stall.

“Stall” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Stall” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a small stand or booth where goods are sold, as in a market.

A market stall is a small stand or booth where goods are sold, while a stall in a stable is a compartment where a single animal is kept. Both share the idea of a defined, enclosed small space, but one is for commerce and the other for housing an animal.

When an engine stalls, it stops running unintentionally and comes to a standstill. In aviation, a stall specifically refers to the loss of lift that happens when an aircraft's angle of attack becomes too steep for its airspeed, which is a distinct and more dangerous meaning.

To stall (intransitively) means to stop making progress, often by accident, as with a car engine. To stall someone means to deliberately use delaying tactics to put them off, which is an intentional act rather than an unwanted breakdown.