noun
stable
STAY-buhl
noun
1
A building where horses or other animals are kept and cared for.
"She mucked out the stable before feeding the horses."
2
All the racehorses, or the people, belonging to one owner, trainer, or organisation.
"The trainer's stable includes several past Grand National winners."
adj
1
Steady, firmly established, and not likely to change suddenly.
"The patient's condition is now stable."
"They wanted a stable home for their children."
2
Of software: tested and reliable, as opposed to an experimental or beta version.
"We only deploy the stable release to production."
How to Use Stable
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA building for horses, a group of people/animals under one management, or — as an adjective — steady and unlikely to change.
Common pairings
stable condition
stable relationship
racing stable
Word Forms
stabler comparative, more stable comparative, stabled past tense, stables plural, stables singular, stablest superlative, most stable superlative
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Etymology
From Latin stabulum, related to stare ("to stand"), via Old French stable.