Stale Definition
stāl
staled, staler, stales, stalest, staling
adjective
staler, stalest
Having lost freshness, effervescence, or palatability.
Stale bread; stale air.
American Heritage
Having lost freshness; made musty, dry, bad, etc. by having been kept too long.
Webster's New World
Having lost originality or newness; lacking in interest through familiarity or overuse; hackneyed; trite.
A stale joke, stale gossip.
Webster's New World
Out of condition, ineffective, enervated, bored, etc. from either too much or too little activity.
Webster's New World
Legally unenforceable because of a claimant's delay in seeking enforcement.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
verb
staled, stales, staling
To make or become stale.
American Heritage
To urinate. Used especially of horses and camels.
American Heritage
To urinate.
Webster's New World
To make or become stale.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
noun
stales
Urine, as of horses or cattle.
Webster's New World
Other Word Forms of Stale
Noun
Singular:
stalePlural:
stalesAdjective
Base Form:
stale
Comparative:
stalerSuperlative:
stalestOrigin of Stale
-
Middle English settled, clear (used of beer or wine) probably from Old French estale slack, settled, clear from estaler to come to a standstill, halt from estal standing place, stand of Germanic origin stel- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Middle English stalen possibly of Low German origin Middle Low German stallen
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Stale Is Also Mentioned In
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