stay
/steɪ/ (bre, ipa) · /steɪ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈstā/ (ame, mw)
stay — verb
1. to deliberately keep yourself in the same spot or circumstance, choosing not to
to deliberately keep yourself in the same spot or circumstance, choosing not to head somewhere else or shift from where you already are.
The doctor told Yuki to stay in bed for three days after the surgery.
stay + adverbial of place (in bed)
Theo stayed late at the office to finish the report his manager needed.
Several guests stayed at the party long after midnight, chatting by the pool.
Amani decided to stay at her current job rather than look for something new.
The neighbour's cat stayed under the sofa the whole time the visitors were there.
文法句型
stay + adverbial of place
用法筆記
Can be followed by adverbial phrases of place or time. The phrase 'stay put' (informal) means to remain exactly where you are and is often used in commands or instructions.
常見錯誤
2. to keep existing in a given condition — maintaining the same quality, feeling, o
to keep existing in a given condition — maintaining the same quality, feeling, or appearance over a stretch of time, such as when you stay calm in a crisis or stay friends after a quarrel.
To stay healthy, Nadia eats vegetables with every meal and rides her bicycle to work.
stay + adjective (healthy/fit/warm/etc.)
The soup stayed warm for over an hour because the heavy lid trapped the heat.
Defne tried to stay calm when the power went out right before her exam started.
The weather forecast says the skies will stay clear for the rest of the week.
Please stay seated until the bus has come to a complete stop at the station.
- change
to become different from the current state
文法句型
stay + adjective
stay + noun phrase
用法筆記
In this sense, 'stay' functions as a linking verb similar to 'remain'. It is most commonly followed by an adjective (stay calm, stay safe, stay warm). It can also be followed by a past participle used as an adjective (stay seated, stay connected). Unlike 'be', it emphasises the idea of continuing an existing state rather than entering a new one.
常見錯誤
3. to spend a brief period living somewhere — for example, as a temporary visitor a
to spend a brief period living somewhere — for example, as a temporary visitor at a hotel, with relatives, or in a rented apartment away from your normal home.
Christopher stayed at a small hotel near the train station during his trip to Kyoto.
stay at [hotel/accommodation]
Élise stayed with her grandmother in the French countryside for two weeks in April.
stay with [person]
The band stayed in a beautiful cabin by the lake while they performed in the city.
Sana stayed at her cousin's apartment in Tokyo for a month to study Japanese.
文法句型
stay at [place]
stay with [person]
stay in [city/country]
用法筆記
Use 'stay at' for specific places (hotels, houses, apartments), 'stay with' for people, and 'stay in' for cities or general areas. The period is usually short — days, weeks, or a few months — not years.
常見錯誤
4. to sleep at someone else's house for a night, typically by invitation as a guest
to sleep at someone else's house for a night, typically by invitation as a guest.
Little Noa asked if she could stay at her best friend's house on Friday evening.
stay at [person's house] for a sleepover
Heather stayed over at Amani's place after the concert finished so late that night.
phrasal: stay over
My brother often stays the night at our parents' house when he visits from work.
The children were allowed to stay at the neighbour's house for a sleepover on Saturday.
- sleep over
more informal; commonly used by children and families
文法句型
stay the night
stay over
stay at [person's house]
用法筆記
Common expressions include 'stay the night' (sleep at someone's house) and 'stay over' (same meaning, slightly less formal). This sense is distinct from sense 3 in that it specifically implies sleeping overnight, usually at a friend's or family member's home.
常見錯誤
5. to live in a place as your regular or permanent home, often used when the focus
to live in a place as your regular or permanent home, often used when the focus is on the fact of residing somewhere rather than the act of moving there.
Eleni stays in a small flat near the university campus while she finishes her master's degree.
After retiring from teaching, Antonia decided to stay in the countryside for good.
stay + adverbial of place (for good / permanently)
The Watanabe family stays in a quiet village in the mountains throughout the winter months each year.
Yuki stays with her parents during the summer when the university dormitory is closed.
文法句型
stay + adverbial of place (permanent context)
用法筆記
This sense overlaps with 'live' but is more common in certain British English contexts and in questions about residence ('Where do you stay?'). In American English, 'live' is the standard word for permanent residence. The surrounding context (words like 'permanently', 'for good', 'during the summer') signals the permanent or habitual nature.
6. to stop, delay, or pause the progress of something; especially used in legal con
to stop, delay, or pause the progress of something; especially used in legal contexts to temporarily suspend a court order, or more generally to check or restrain something such as hunger, anger, or a disease.
The judge stayed the execution after the prisoner's lawyer submitted new evidence to the court.
stay [legal process] — formal legal usage
The new treatment helped stay the progression of the lung disease for several months.
stay [the progression of a disease] — medical context
The government stayed the construction of the new highway until the environmental report was complete.
The judge stayed the bank's attempt to take the family's house until their appeal could be heard.
文法句型
stay [noun phrase]
stay [legal process]
用法筆記
When used in a legal sense, 'stay' means a judge or court orders a temporary stop to a legal process. In general usage (stay hunger, stay anger), this sense is now quite formal and literary — learners are better off using 'stop', 'delay', or 'postpone' in everyday conversation.
常見錯誤
7. to keep at a difficult job or activity until you have seen it through to the ver
to keep at a difficult job or activity until you have seen it through to the very end — for example, sticking with a long training programme or finishing a tough project.
Despite the heavy rain, the hikers stayed with the trail until they reached the mountain shelter.
stay with [challenging task/activity]
Noa stayed with her studies late into the night, determined to pass the final chemistry exam.
The team stayed the course through months of difficult training before the national competition.
Yuki stayed with the maths problem until she found a solution that everyone could agree on.
文法句型
stay with [task/activity]
stay the course
用法筆記
Often used in the fixed phrase 'stay the course' (continue despite difficulties; from horse racing, where a horse 'stays the course' by running the full distance). Also common as 'stay with something' in everyday contexts. Not to be confused with sense 2 (CONTINUE BEING) — this sense focuses on completing a task, not maintaining a state.
stay — noun
1. the block of time somebody spends away from their own home, staying at a hotel,
the block of time somebody spends away from their own home, staying at a hotel, hospital, or another person's residence while travelling or receiving care.
Theo enjoyed his stay in Kyoto, especially the temple visits at sunrise each morning.
[possessive] stay in [city/country]
After a short stay in the hospital, Nadia was well enough to go home and rest.
The Park family's stay at the beach resort was cut short by a typhoon warning along the coast.
During her stay in London, Élise visited the British Museum three times over two weeks.
A long stay in a foreign country helps you learn the language faster than classes at home.
文法句型
[possessive] stay in/at [place]
a/an [adjective] stay
用法筆記
Typically used with possessive determiners ('my stay', 'their stay') or an article ('a stay', 'the stay'). Common prepositions are 'in' (for cities/countries) and 'at' (for specific accommodations or institutions like hotels, hospitals).
常見錯誤
2. a judge's or court's order that temporarily stops a legal judgment, execution, o
a judge's or court's order that temporarily stops a legal judgment, execution, or other legal process from being carried out, usually until fresh facts or arguments can be fully reviewed.
The judge granted a stay of execution so that the prisoner's appeal could be properly heard.
stay of [legal process] — standard legal collocation
Lawyers for the company requested a stay of the court's decision until further evidence was reviewed.
The Supreme Court issued a temporary stay that blocked the new law from taking effect immediately.
The appeals court later lifted the stay and allowed the trial to move forward.
- suspension
broader meaning; can be legal or non-legal
- postponement
implies it will resume later; less formal than 'stay'
- injunction
a distinct legal order that requires someone to do or not do something
- proceeding
the continuation of a legal process after a stay is lifted
文法句型
grant a stay
stay of [legal process]
issue a stay
用法筆記
Almost exclusively used in formal legal contexts. The most common collocations are 'stay of execution' (stopping a death sentence or court judgment), 'stay of proceedings' (pausing a trial), and 'grant/issue/request a stay'. In everyday English, use 'postponement' or 'suspension' instead.
3. an official or deliberate pause or stoppage of an activity, process, or movement
an official or deliberate pause or stoppage of an activity, process, or movement.
The city council put a stay on new construction permits until the flood risk study was completed.
put a stay on [official activity/process]
Construction on the new bridge was put under a stay until the safety check finished.
The factory put a temporary stay on all shipments while the faulty batch was checked.
The minister called for a stay on new housing developments until the flood risk was assessed.
- continuation
the act of carrying on after a halt
文法句型
put a stay on [something]
under a stay
用法筆記
This sense is formal and somewhat literary. In everyday English, 'stop', 'pause', or 'halt' are much more common. Learners should recognise this meaning in reading but are unlikely to need it actively.