stag Hear it!

stag definition

stag (stag)

noun pl. stags or stag

  1. a full-grown male deer, esp. a hart or a caribou
  2. a male animal, esp. a hog, castrated in maturity
  3. ☆
    1. a man who attends a social gathering unaccompanied by a woman
    2. a social gathering attended by men only

Etymology: ME < OE stagga, akin to ON (andar)steggi, drake < IE base *stegh-, to stick, pierce

adjective

☆ for men only a stag dinner

transitive verb stagged, stagging stag′·ging

Brit., Slang to observe or follow secretly or furtively; spy on

intransitive verb

☆ to go to a party, etc. as a stag (sense )
stag Idioms

go stag

☆ Informal
  1. to go as a stag (sense )
  2. to go unescorted by a man

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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