Meaning of stall In English

• 0 a large table or a small shop with an open front from which goods are sold in a public place:

  • In the village market, the stalls are piled high with local vegetables.

• 1 a small closed area within a farm building in which there is space for one animal to be kept

  • There was one bathroom with a shower stall in the corner.

• 2 rows of fixed seats in a church, often with the sides and backs connected

• 3 If an engine stalls, or if you stall it, it stops working suddenly and without you intending it to happen:

  • A car may stall due to the driver braking too suddenly.

  • I stalled the car twice during my driving test but still managed to pass.

• 4 to delay taking action or avoid giving an answer in order to have more time to make a decision or get an advantage:

  • She says she'll give me the money next week but I think she's just stalling (for time).

  • I managed to stall him for a few days until I'd got enough money to pay back the loan.

  • mainly US The thief broke into the office while his accomplice stalled off the security guard.

  • Japan's economic growth has stalled, with industrial production contracting in June for the fourth straight month.

  • Commandos stalled the enemy attack by destroying three bridges.

  • Fears are growing that a tax increase may stall economic recovery.

• 5 to delay or put off action:

  • [ I ] They’re just stalling, trying to avoid making a decision.

  • [ T ] I can stall him for a few minutes.

• 6 to cause a vehicle or engine to stop suddenly, or of a vehicle or engine to stop suddenly:

  • [ I ] My car stalled at the traffic light.

• 7 a separate area in which an animal is kept

  • The bathroom had a tiled shower stall.

• 8 if a process or system stalls or something stalls it, it suddenly stops developing or making progress:

  • Japan's economic growth has stalled.

  • Contract negotiations between management and the union have stalled again.

  • I don't believe there was a deliberate plan to stall the process.

• 9 if someone stalls, they do not answer a question immediately or continue a discussion, in order to give themselves more time to think:

  • "I have to look it up on my machine at home," he said stalling for time.

• 10 a table or structure from which someone sells things on the street or in an outdoor market:

  • She set up a stall at the fair to sell her jewelery.

  • A long row of market stalls was filled with every kind of food you could imagine.