stay – English verb conjugation

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to stay
Participle: staid
Gerund: staying

Cognates

See the 3 cognates of stay

Indicative

Subjunctive

Conditional

Imperative

you	stay
we	Let's stay
you	stay

Indicative

Conditional

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

wait for

attend, await, wait for

stop; detain; hinder

hinder

restrain; withhold; check

curb

cause to cease

end

put off; defer; postpone

procrastinate

bear up under

persevere

rest; depend; rely

rely

come to a stand or standstill

stop

come to an end

desist, end

dwell; linger; tarry; wait

tarry

last or persevere to the end

persist

remain in a particular place

sojourn

rest in patience or expectation

wait

wait as an attendant

serve

continue to have a particular quality

remain

live; reside

reside

to stay or remain in a place or situation

abide, eld, linger, retard, tarry, wait

to make difficult to accomplish; to frustrate, act as obstacle

behedge, forestay, forslow, frustrate, get in the way, hamper, handicap, hinder, hold up, impede, incommode, obstruct, overslaugh, prevene, prevent, restrict, retard, slow down, thwart, thwarten, umbeset, undermine

to persist steadfastly in pursuit of an undertaking

abide, bear up, carry on, continue, endure, follow up, hang in there, hold on, hold out, hold the line, hold up, persevere, persist, stay the distance, stick by one's guns, stick with

to finish (something)

conclude, consummate, discontinue, do, fullcome, round off, stop, terminate, end

To put off; defer; postpone; delay; keep back.

procrastinate

to cease to proceed or act

absist, belay, blin, break off, cease, cess, cheese it, come to an end, desist, discontinue, forbear, halt, have done with, hold, leave off, let up, rest, stanch, staunch, stop, surcease, terminate

to be left after a number or quantity has been subtracted or cut off

beleave, belive, keep, remain, rest

to have a settled abode permanently or for a considerable time

abide, bedwell, belive, dwell, inhabit, live, occupy, reside

to stay somewhere temporarily

keep, quarter, sleep over, sojourn, stay over, stop, stop off, stop over, tarry

To wait as an attendant; give ceremonious or submissive attendance.

serve

to keep under control

behedge, bind, chasten, check, contain, cork, curb, curtail, dampen, hamshackle, limit, repress, restrain, restrict, shackle, stifle, stop, straiten, suppress, throttle, withhold, withstrain

to cease moving; to come to a stand or standstill

anchor, astand, blin, brake, cease, draw up, grind to a halt, halt, hold, stall, stop

to delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness

abide, bide, defer, expect, hang on, hold on, hold one's breath, hold one's horses, hold one's water, hold out, stand by, wait

to have something as a necessary condition

depend, hang, hinge, lean, rely, rest, turn

stop

halt

remain

linger, wait, pause, tarry, bide, sojourn, delay

detain

delay, hinder, hold, suspend, quell, suppress, restrain, prevent

appease

allay, satisfy, curb

Antonyms

in blackjack, be dealt another card

stick, twist

to replace something with something else

abide, endure, last, remain, switch

to submit to the power of another

control, dominate, persevere, rule, stand firm, surrender

stop

start, initiate, open, proceed

remain

leave, depart, go, move

detain

liberate, release, free

appease

annoy, irritate, perturb, roil

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

1. "strong rope which supports a ship's mast," from O.E. stæg, from P.Gmc. *stagan (cf. Du. stag, Low Ger. stach, Ger. Stag, O.N. stag), from PIE *stak-, ult. an extended form of base *sta- "to stand" (see stet). The verb meaning "secure or steady with stays" is first recorded 1627.
2. From Middle English steyen, staien, from Old French estayer, estaier (“to fix, prop up, support, stay”), from estaye, estaie (“a prop, stay”), from Middle Dutch staeye (“a prop, stay”), a contracted form of staede, stade (“a prop, stay, help, aid”) (compare Middle Dutch staeyen, staeden (“to make firm, stay, support, hold still, stabilise”)), from Proto-West Germanic *stadi (“a site, place, location, standing”), from Proto-Germanic *stadiz (“a standing, place”), from Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂tis (“standing”). Influenced by Old English stæġ ("a stay, rope"; see below). Cognate with Old English stede (“a place, spot, locality, fixed position, station, site, standing, status, position of a moving body, stopping, standing still, stability, fixity, firmness, steadfastness”), Swedish stödja (“to prop, support, brace, hold up, bolster”), Icelandic stöðug (“continuous, stable”). More at stead, steady.
3. Sense of "remain, continue" may be due to later influence from Old French ester, esteir (“to stand, be, continue, remain”), from Latin stāre (“stand”), from the same Proto-Indo-European root above; however, derivation from this root is untenable based on linguistic and historical grounds.
4. An alternative etymology derives Old French estaye, estaie, from Frankish *stakā, *stakō (“stake, post”), from Proto-Germanic *stakô (“stake, bar, stick, pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“rod, pole, stick”), making it cognate with Old English staca (“pin, stake”), Old English stician (“to stick, be placed, lie, remain fixed”). Cognate with Albanian shtagë (“a long stick, a pole”). More at stake, stick. See: Swedish 'stödja', Old French 'ester', Old English 'stician'.

Verbs referencing "stay"

Esperanto stari.

Sample Sentences