stop something down Definition

stop
verb stopped, stopping

tr & intr
1. To bring or come to rest, a standstill or an end; to cease or cause to cease moving, operating or progressing.

Thesaurus: halt, pause, stay, tarry, rest, pull up, check, discontinue, cease, suspend; Antonym: continue, proceed, advance.
2. To prevent.

Thesaurus: prevent, terminate, arrest, bar, block, forestall, frustrate, impede, obstruct, repress, staunch; Antonym: start.
3. To withhold or keep something back.
4. To block, plug or close something.
5. To deduct (money) from wages.
6. To instruct a bank not to honour (a cheque).
intr
7. colloq
To stay or reside temporarily.
Example: stopped the night with friends
8. music.
To adjust the vibrating length of (a string) by pressing down with a finger.
9. slang
To receive (a blow).

noun

1. An act of stopping.

Thesaurus: halt, pause, discontinuation, rest, stoppage, cessation, termination, break.
2. A regular stopping place, eg on a bus route.

Thesaurus: depot (US), station, terminus, way station (US), whistle-stop.
3. The state of being stopped; a standstill.
4. A device that prevents further movement.

Example: a door stop
5. A temporary stay, especially when it is en route for somewhere else.
6. A shortened form of full stop.
7a. A set of organ pipes that have a uniform tone;
7b. A knob that allows the pipes to be brought into and out of use;
7c. A similar device on a harpsichord.
8. Any of a graded series of sizes that a camera's aperture can be adjusted to.

Form: f-stop (also)
9. phonetics.
Any consonantal sound that is made by the sudden release of air that has built up behind the lips, teeth, tongue, etc, eg the plosives and the affricates of English.

Derivative: stoppable
adj

Derivative: stopping
noun

Derivative: stopless
adj

Idiom: pull out all the stops

To try one's best.

Idiom: put a stop to something

To cause it to end, especially abruptly.

Idiom: stop at nothing

To be prepared to do anything, no matter how unscrupulous, in order to achieve an aim, outcome, etc.

Idiom: stop the show

To be a great success. See also show-stopper.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon stoppian.

Phrasal Verb: stop something down

To reduce the size of the aperture in (a camera).

Phrasal Verb: stop off, in or by

To visit, especially on the way to somewhere else. See also stop-off.

Phrasal Verb: stop out

To stay away from home all night. See also stopping-out.

Phrasal Verb: stop something out

To selectively cover (parts of a cloth, printing plate, etc) so that special effects can be created in dyeing, etching, photographic development, etc.

Phrasal Verb: stop over

To make a break in a journey. See also stop-off.

Phrasal Verb: stop short of something

To manage to refrain from doing, saying, etc it.
Example: just stopped short of calling her a thief

Phrasal Verb: stop up something

To plug (a hole, etc).