stale

Definitions

1. 1.Vapid or tasteless from age; having lost its life, spirit, and flavor, from being long kept; as, stale beer.
2. 2.Not new; not freshly made; as, stele bread.
3. 3.Having lost the life or graces of youth; worn out; decayed. "A stale virgin." Spectator.
4. 4.Worn out by use or familiarity; having lost its novelty and power of pleasing; trite; common. Swift. Wit itself, if stale is less pleasing. Grew. How weary, stale flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Shak. Stale affidavit (Law), an affidavit held above a year. Craig. -- Stale demand (Law), a claim or demand which has not been pressed or demanded for a long time.
5. 5.To make vapid or tasteless; to destroy the life, beauty, or use of; to wear out. Age can not wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Shak.
6. 6.To make water; to discharge urine; -- said especially of horses and cattle. Hudibras.
7. 7.That which is stale or worn out by long keeping, or by use. [Obs.]
8. 8.A prostitute. [Obs.] Shak.
9. 9.Urine, esp. that of beasts. "Stale of horses." Shak.
10. 10.Something set, or offered to view, as an allurement to draw others to any place or purpose; a decoy; a stool pigeon. [Obs.] Still, as he went, he crafty stales did lay. Spenser.
11. 11.A stalking-horse. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
12. 12.(Chess) A stalemate. [Obs.] Bacon.
13. 13.A laughingstock; a dupe. [Obs.] Shak.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "stale" mean?
• What is another word for "stale"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is stale.

• What is vapid or tasteless from age; having lost its life, spirit, and flavor, from being long kept; as, stale beer called?
• What is not new; not freshly made; as, stele bread called?
• What is having lost the life or graces of youth; worn out; decayed. "A stale virgin." Spectator called?
• What is to make vapid or tasteless; to destroy the life, beauty, or use of; to wear out. Age can not wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Shak called?
• What is to make water; to discharge urine; -- said especially of horses and cattle. Hudibras called?
• What is that which is stale or worn out by long keeping, or by use. [Obs.] called?
• What is urine, esp. that of beasts. "Stale of horses." Shak called?
• What is something set, or offered to view, as an allurement to draw others to any place or purpose; a decoy; a stool pigeon. [Obs.] Still, as he went, he crafty stales did lay. Spenser called?