# stop /ˈstɑp/ (US) · /stˈɒp/ (UK) Source: https://englishreference.com/word/stop Updated: 2026-06-19 ## Senses ### 1. to cease moving or acting verb · CEFR A1 to finish an activity or to stay in one place and not move anymore. For teachers: to cease motion, progress, or an ongoing activity. Intransitive or transitive depending on whether the subject or an object is being halted. - The car stopped at the red light and waited for the pedestrians to cross. - The factory decided to stop production of the older model once the new automated assembly line became fully operational. ### 2. to prevent something verb · CEFR A2 to keep something from happening or to block someone from doing something. For teachers: to interrupt, prevent, or end the activity of someone or something through intervention. - The security guard stopped the man from entering the building without an ID. - Heavy snow effectively stopped the rescue teams from reaching the remote village before nightfall. Usage: Often used with the pattern 'stop someone from doing something'. ### 3. to stay temporarily verb · CEFR B1 · British English to stay in a place for a short time while you are on a journey. For teachers: to reside or tarry temporarily; to make a brief visit during travel. - We stopped at a small hotel for the night before driving the rest of the way. - During their tour of the coast, they stopped over in several fishing villages to sample the local cuisine. Usage: Often used with 'at' or 'over'. Teaching tip: This sense is more common in British English than American English, where 'stay' is preferred. ### 4. transit location noun · CEFR A1 a place where a bus, train, or tram regularly waits for people. For teachers: a designated location where public transport vehicles halt to allow passengers to board or alight. - I will meet you at the bus stop in front of the library at five o'clock. - The city council decided to move the tram stop further down the street to reduce traffic congestion at the main intersection. ### 5. ending a journey noun · CEFR A2 a short break or a period of time when you are not moving during a trip. For teachers: an act of halting or an interruption of travel. - We made a quick stop for coffee and then continued our long drive. - The flight from London to Sydney includes a two-hour stop in Singapore for refueling and crew changes. ### 6. punctuation noun · CEFR B1 · British English a mark like a period (.) used at the end of a sentence. For teachers: a punctuation mark representing a pause or the end of a sentence; specifically a full stop. - You must put a stop at the end of every sentence. - The editor noted that the author frequently omitted the final stop in bulleted lists, leading to inconsistent formatting. Usage: Commonly called a 'full stop' in the UK. Teaching tip: In American English, this is almost exclusively called a 'period'. ### 7. linguistics noun · CEFR C1 · Technical a consonant sound where you completely block the air for a moment, like /p/ or /t/. For teachers: a consonant phoneme produced by a complete obstruction of the oral cavity, followed by a sudden release of air. - The letter 'p' is a stop because your lips close completely to make the sound. - The researcher analyzed the duration of the closure phase in unvoiced stops across several different dialects. Teaching tip: Learners of phonetics will encounter this as a synonym for 'plosive'. ### 8. photography noun · CEFR C1 · Technical a setting that changes how much light enters a camera. For teachers: a unit of exposure representing a doubling or halving of the light reaching the sensor; also an f-stop. - I opened the lens by one stop to make the photo brighter. - Adjusting the exposure by half a stop was sufficient to recover the detail in the shadows without blowing out the highlights. ## Examples - I wait at the bus stop every morning. - The driver made a sudden stop when a cat ran across the road. - The city council approved the construction of a new transit stop to better serve the growing residential population in the eastern suburbs. --- From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.