HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
v. stayed, stay·ing, stays v.intr. 1. a. To continue to be in a place or condition: stay home; stay calm. b. To remain or sojourn as a guest or lodger: stayed at a motel. c. To linger or wait in order to do or experience something: We stayed to watch the final minutes of the game. 2. a. To continue or persist in an action or activity: stayed with the original plan; stayed in college. b. To keep up in a race or contest: tried to stay with the lead runner. 3. Games To meet a bet in poker without raising it. 4. Archaic To stop moving or stop doing something. v.tr. 1. To remain during: stayed the week with my parents; stayed the duration of the game. 2. a. To stop or restrain; check: Doubt stayed his hand. b. To suspend by legal order the implementation of (a planned action), especially pending further proceedings: stay a prisoner's execution. 3. To satisfy or appease temporarily: stayed his anger. 4. Archaic To wait for; await: "I will not stay thy questions. Let me go; / Or if thou follow me, do not believe / But I shall do thee mischief in the wood" (Shakespeare). n. Phrasal Verb: 1. A brief period of residence or visiting. 2. Law a. The order by which a planned action is stayed. b. The consequence of such an order. 3. Archaic a. The act of halting; check. b. The act of coming to a halt. stay up Idioms: To remain awake past one's usual bedtime; not go to bed. stay put To remain in a fixed or established position. stay the course To hold out or persevere to the end of a race or challenge. stay with (one) To remain in one's memory; not be forgotten: That kind of compliment stays with you for years. [Middle English steien, from Old French ester, esteir, from Latin stāre; see stā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] Synonyms: stay1, linger, remain, tarry1, wait These verbs mean to continue to be in a given place: stayed in bed until noon; lingered at the mall for an entire afternoon; remained on the subway until the very last stop; tarried in the hallway until he was late for class; waited for the movie credits to end before she left the theater. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
