stop

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. close; obstruct; stanch; arrest, halt, impede; inhibit; delay, hold up, detain; discontinue, suspend; end, terminate, conclude; cease, desist. Ant., go, continue, encourage. —n. halt, standstill, pause; discontinuance, stoppage; stay, sojourn; stopping place, station; period, punctuation mark; brake, catch, skid, detent, curb. —interj. halt! belay! avast! stay! cease! See end, closure, lateness.

II

(Roget's IV) interj.

Syn. cease, knock it off, cut it out, quit it, say, hey there; see also halt 2 .

n.

1. [A pause]

Syn. halt, stay, standstill; see end 2 , pause 1 , 2 .

2. [A stopping place]

Syn. station, passenger station, wayside stop; see depot .

• pull out all the stops*,

Syn. go the limit, do everything possible, give it all one has*; see try 1 , work 1 .

• put a stop to,

Syn. halt, interrupt, intervene; see stop 1 .

v.

1. [To halt]

Syn. pause, stay, stand, lay over, stay over, break the journey, tarry, stand still, shut down, rest, discontinue, come to a halt, come to a standstill, pull up, reach a standstill, check, bivouac, cease marching, hold, stop dead in one's tracks*, stop short*, freeze*, freeze up*, call it a day*, stymie*, box in*, knock on the head*, cut short*; see also end 1 .

Ant. continue*, proceed, advance.

2. [To cease]

Syn. cease, terminate, finish, conclude, quit, withdraw, leave off, let up, pull up, fold up, fetch up, wind up, bring up, relinquish, have done with, desist, refrain, ring down, settle, discontinue, end, close, draw up, tie up, give up, call off, bring up, close down, break up, hold up, pull up, lapse, be at an end, cut out, die away, come off, go out, stay one's hand, run out, defect, surrender, close, peter out*, call it a day*, knock it off*, lay off*, throw in the towel*, belay that*, blow over*, melt away*, drop it*, run out*, write off*, pipe down*, save one's breath*, give over*, run its course*; see also halt 2 , suspend 2 .

Ant. begin*, start, commence.

3. [To prevent]

Syn. hinder, obstruct, arrest; see prevent .

4. [To cause to cease]

Syn. arrest, check, suspend; see halt 2 .

Syn.- stop implies a suspension or ending of some motion, action, or progress [ my watch stopped] ; cease implies a suspension or ending of some state or condition or of an existence [ the war had ceased , the noise ceased when the train stopped] ; quit is equivalent to either stop [ she quit working for the day ] or cease [ he quit working at sixty-five and retired to Florida ] ; discontinue suggests the suspension of some action that is a habitual practice, an occupation, etc. [ he has discontinued the practice of law ] ; desist implies a ceasing of some action that is annoying, harmful, futile, etc. [desist from further bickering ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. halt cessation, termination, suspension, discontinuance, standstill, *freeze, letup, end, intermission, interlude.

2. stopover destination, sojourn, visit, layover, depot, station, terminal.

ANT.: 1. start, commencement, progression

II

v.

1. halt cease, terminate, suspend, discontinue, stand still, *freeze, hold it, let up, end, arrest, turn off, shut down, quit, finish, break, stay.

2. staunch stanch, plug up, stem the flow, seal, check, block, occlude, choke off.

3. obstruct impede, restrain, block.

4. defeat put down, check, put an end to, crush, quash, silence.

ANT.: 1. go, proceed, continue. 2. open, unplug. 3. clear the way. 4. strengthen, fortify, help

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To plug up something, as a hole, space, or container: block, choke, clog, close, congest, cork, fill, plug. See FULL. 2. To come to a cessation: arrest, belay, cease, check, discontinue, halt1, leave off, quit, stall1, surcease. Idiom: come to a halt (or standstill or stop). See CONTINUE. 3. To prevent the occurrence or continuation of a movement, action, or operation: arrest, belay, cease, check, discontinue, halt1, stall1, stay1, surcease. Idioms: bring to a standstill, call a halt to, put a stop to. See CONTINUE. 4. To cause to cease regular activity: idle, immobilize, tie up. Idiom: bring to a screeching halt. See CONTINUE. 5. To cease trying to accomplish or continue: abandon, break off, desist, discontinue, give up, leave off, quit, relinquish, remit. Informal: swear off. Slang: lay off. Idioms: call it a day, call it quits, hang up one's fiddle, have done with, throw in the towel. See CONTINUE. 6. To desist from, cease, or discontinue (a habit, for example): break, cut out, give up, leave off. Slang: kick. See CONTINUE. 7. To go to or seek out the company of in order to socialize. Also used with by or in: call, come by, come over, drop by, drop in, look in, look up, pop in, run in, see, visit. Idiom: pay a visit. See SEEK. II noun 1. The act of stopping: cessation, check, cut-off, discontinuance, discontinuation, halt1, stay1, stoppage, surcease. See CONTINUE. 2. The condition of being stopped: cessation, discontinuance, discontinuation, halt1, standstill, stoppage, surcease. See CONTINUE. 3. A concluding or terminating: cease, cessation, close, closing, closure, completion, conclusion, consummation, end, ending, end of the line, finish, period, stopping point, termination, terminus, wind-up, wrap-up. See CONTINUE. 4. Something that impedes or prevents entry or passage: bar, barricade, barrier, block, blockage, clog, hamper, hindrance, hurdle, impediment, obstacle, obstruction, snag, traverse, wall. See HELP, OPEN. 5. Something used to fill a hole, space, or container: choke, cork, fill, plug, stopper. See FULL.