stale


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

stale 1

 (stāl)
adj. stal·er, stal·est
1. Having lost freshness, effervescence, or palatability: stale bread; stale air.
2. Lacking originality or spontaneity: a stale joke.
3. Ineffective or uninspired, usually from being out of practice or from having done the same thing for too long.
4. Law Legally unenforceable because of a claimant's delay in seeking enforcement.
tr. & intr.v. staled, stal·ing, stales
To make or become 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; see stel- in Indo-European roots.]

stale′ly adv.
stale′ness n.

stale 2

 (stāl)
intr.v. staled, stal·ing, stales
To urinate. Used especially of horses and camels.
n.
The urine of certain animals, especially horses and camels.

[Middle English stalen, possibly of Low German origin; akin to Middle Low German stallen.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

stale

(steɪl)
adj
1. (Cookery) (esp of food) hard, musty, or dry from being kept too long
2. (Brewing) (of beer, etc) flat and tasteless from being kept open too long
3. (of air) stagnant; foul
4. uninteresting from overuse; hackneyed: stale clichés.
5. no longer new: stale news.
6. lacking in energy or ideas through overwork or lack of variety
7. (Banking & Finance) banking (of a cheque) not negotiable by a bank as a result of not having been presented within six months of being written
8. (Law) law (of a claim, etc) having lost its effectiveness or force, as by failure to act or by the lapse of time
vb
to make or become stale
[C13 (originally applied to liquor in the sense: well matured): probably via Norman French from Old French estale (unattested) motionless, of Frankish origin; related to stall1, install]
ˈstalely adv
ˈstaleness n

stale

(steɪl)
vb
(Agriculture) (intr) (of livestock) to urinate
n
(Agriculture) the urine of horses or cattle
[C15: perhaps from Old French estaler to stand in one position; see stall1; compare Middle Low German stallen to urinate, Greek stalassein to drip]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

stale1

(steɪl)

adj. stal•er, stal•est, adj.
1. not fresh; vapid or flat, as beverages; dry or hardened, as bread.
2. musty; stagnant: stale air.
3. hackneyed; trite: a stale joke.
4. having lost interest, initiative, or the like, as from overwork or boredom.
5. Law. (of a claim) no longer in force through lack of action.
v.t., v.i.
6. to make or become stale.
[1250–1300; akin to Middle Dutch stel; perhaps akin to stale2]
stale′ly, adv.
stale′ness, n.

stale2

(steɪl)

v. staled, stal•ing,
n. v.i.
1. (of livestock, esp. horses) to urinate.
n.
2. the urine of livestock.
[1400–50; late Middle English stalen to urinate, probably < Old French estaler < Germanic; compare Middle Low German, late Middle High German stallen]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Stale

 a body of armed men posted for ambush.
Examples: stale of hunters, 1425; of armed men, 1350.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

stale


Past participle: staled
Gerund: staling

Imperative
stale
stale
Present
I stale
you stale
he/she/it stales
we stale
you stale
they stale
Preterite
I staled
you staled
he/she/it staled
we staled
you staled
they staled
Present Continuous
I am staling
you are staling
he/she/it is staling
we are staling
you are staling
they are staling
Present Perfect
I have staled
you have staled
he/she/it has staled
we have staled
you have staled
they have staled
Past Continuous
I was staling
you were staling
he/she/it was staling
we were staling
you were staling
they were staling
Past Perfect
I had staled
you had staled
he/she/it had staled
we had staled
you had staled
they had staled
Future
I will stale
you will stale
he/she/it will stale
we will stale
you will stale
they will stale
Future Perfect
I will have staled
you will have staled
he/she/it will have staled
we will have staled
you will have staled
they will have staled
Future Continuous
I will be staling
you will be staling
he/she/it will be staling
we will be staling
you will be staling
they will be staling
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been staling
you have been staling
he/she/it has been staling
we have been staling
you have been staling
they have been staling
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been staling
you will have been staling
he/she/it will have been staling
we will have been staling
you will have been staling
they will have been staling
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been staling
you had been staling
he/she/it had been staling
we had been staling
you had been staling
they had been staling
Conditional
I would stale
you would stale
he/she/it would stale
we would stale
you would stale
they would stale
Past Conditional
I would have staled
you would have staled
he/she/it would have staled
we would have staled
you would have staled
they would have staled
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.stale - urinate, of cattle and horses
make water, micturate, pass water, pee, pee-pee, relieve oneself, spend a penny, take a leak, wee, wee-wee, urinate, piddle, puddle, make - eliminate urine; "Again, the cat had made on the expensive rug"
Adj.1.stale - lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age; "stale bread"; "the beer was stale"
old - of long duration; not new; "old tradition"; "old house"; "old wine"; "old country"; "old friendships"; "old money"
unoriginal - not original; not being or productive of something fresh and unusual; "the manuscript contained unoriginal emendations"; "his life had been unoriginal, conforming completely to the given pattern"- Gwethalyn Graham
fresh - recently made, produced, or harvested; "fresh bread"; "a fresh scent"; "fresh lettuce"
2.stale - lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new; "moth-eaten theories about race"; "stale news"
unoriginal - not original; not being or productive of something fresh and unusual; "the manuscript contained unoriginal emendations"; "his life had been unoriginal, conforming completely to the given pattern"- Gwethalyn Graham
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

stale

adjective
1. old, hard, dry, decayed, fetid a lump of stale bread
old fresh, crisp
2. musty, stagnant, fusty the smell of stale sweat
3. tasteless, flat, sour, insipid The place smelled of stale beer and dusty carpets.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

stale

adjective
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
غَيْر طازِج، تَفِه المَذاقغَيْر مُثير، فاتَت مُدَّتُهمُبْتَذَلموهَن، مُجْهَد
starýsuchýotřepanýpřetrénovaný
forslidtgammeltørudbrændtudkørt
vanhentunut
star
ellaposodottmegkopott
gamall, uppòornaîurstaînaîurútkeyrîur
古くなった
신선하지 않은
išsikvėpęsišsisėmęs
neinteresantspārgurtpārtrenētiessacietējisvecs
postanzadušljiv
gammalpassé
ไม่สด
ôi thiu

stale

[steɪl]
A. ADJ (staler (compar) (stalest (superl)))
1. (= not fresh) [cheese, butter, sweat, cigarette smoke] → rancio; [breath] → maloliente; [air] → viciado; [biscuit, beer] → pasado; [cake] → seco; [bread] → correoso; (= hard) → duro
to go stale [biscuit, beer] → pasarse; [cake] → secarse; [bread] → ponerse correoso; (= become hard) → ponerse duro
to have gone stale (lit) → estar pasado
to smell staleoler a viejo
2. (fig) [news, joke] → viejo; [idea] → marchito
he felt tired and stalese sentía cansado y hastiado
their relationship had become stalela relación se había estancado or anquilosado
to get or become stale [person] → estancarse, anquilosarse
I'm getting staleme estoy estancando or anquilosando
the show's got a little staleel espectáculo está ya un poco gastado
if they rehearse too much they'll become stalesi ensayan demasiado se van a quemar
B. VI (liter) [relationship, author, writing] → quedarse estancado or anquilosado; [pleasures] → perder la frescura (liter)
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

stale

[ˈsteɪl] adj
[bread] → rassis(e)
[beer] → éventé(e)
[smell] → de renfermé
(= jaded) [person] → blasé(e)
(= boring) [idea, joke] → éculé(e), rebattu(e); [news] → rebattu(e); [relationship] → moribond(e)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

stale

adj (+er)
(= old, musty)alt; caketrocken; bread, biscuitaltbacken; (in smell) → muffig; water, beer, wineabgestanden, schal; airverbraucht; cigarette smokekalt; to go stale (food)verderben; to smell stalemuffig riechen
(fig) newsveraltet; jokeabgedroschen; ideaabgegriffen; athlete, pianist etcausgepumpt, verbraucht; to be stale (person) → alles nur noch routinemäßig machen; to become stale (relationship)an Reiz verlieren; (situation)langweilig werden; I’m getting staleich mache langsam alles nur noch routinemäßig; don’t let yourself get stalepass auf, dass du nicht in Routine verfällst
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

stale

[steɪl] adj (-r (comp) (-st (superl))) (food, gen) → stantio/a; (bread) → stantio/a, raffermo/a; (beer) → svaporato/a; (air) → viziato/a; (news, joke) → vecchio/a come il cucco, trito/a (Law) (claim) → caduto/a in prescrizione, prescritto/a
I'm getting stale → non ho più entusiasmo
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

stale

(steil) adjective
1. (of food etc) not fresh and therefore dry and tasteless. stale bread.
2. no longer interesting. His ideas are stale and dull.
3. no longer able to work etc well because of too much study etc. If she practises the piano for more than two hours a day, she will grow stale.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

stale

مُبْتَذَل starý gammel abgestanden μπαγιάτικος rancio vanhentunut rassis star stantio 古くなった 신선하지 않은 niet vers ikke fersk czerstwy envelhecido черствый gammal ไม่สด bayat ôi thiu 陈腐的
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
If the news is not stale, and has not already appeared in the other papers, perhaps you will kindly relate what occurred, while I make notes of it.
Clean or tainted, hot or stale, Hold it as it were the Trail, Through the day and through the night, Questing neither left nor right.
Especially it is a sport to see, when a bold fellow is out of countenance; for that puts his face into a most shrunken, and wooden posture; as needs it must; for in bashfulness, the spirits do a little go and come; but with bold men, upon like occasion, they stand at a stay; like a stale at chess, where it is no mate, but yet the game cannot stir.
The three gentlemen dropped solemnly back into their three chairs, and repeated the dreadful intelligence, in chorus--"Tinkler has gone stale."
Second, as to what particular form of human affliction you implied when you described that man as "gone stale."
Then, astounded by the quantity of beer that was lacking, and remembering having seen stale beer made to foam afresh, I took a stick and stirred what was left till it foamed to the brim.
They all knew by experience that there were no stale dishes and no cheap wines at Mablethorpe House.
I know the art of searching for a trail, and I know the stale track from the fresh.
An over-scrupulous jealousy of danger to the rights of the people, which is more commonly the fault of the head than of the heart, will be represented as mere pretense and artifice, the stale bait for popularity at the expense of the public good.
Meanwhile, I had not the courage to go near my club, and the Temple was a place where I was accosted in every court, effusively congratulated on the marvellous preservation of my stale spoilt life, and invited right and left to spin my yarn over a quiet pipe!
Raffles, both of which seemed to have a stale odor of travellers' rooms in the commercial hotels of that period.
I suppose Velasquez was a better painter than El Greco, but custom stales one's admiration for him: the Cretan, sensual and tragic, proffers the mystery of his soul like a standing sacrifice.