stalker
1354
When his request was refused, he stalked out. 3 [I;T] especially lit
(of GHOSTS and evils regarded as living things) to move
silently (through) in a threatening manner: Disease stalked
(through) the city.
stalker /'stɔ:kə/ n [C] a criminal who follows a woman
over a period of time in order to force her to have sex, or kill
her
stalking /'stɔ:kɪŋ/ n [U] the crime of following someone
over a period of time in order to force them to have sex or
kill them
'stalking horse n something or someone that hides a true
purpose, especially a CANDIDATE for political office put for-
ward to hide or draw attention away from the real candi-
date: John Taylor's name has been suggested for the election of
a new president but I think he is just a stalking horse.
stall¹ /stɔ:l/ n 1 especially BrE (often in comb.) a table or small
open-fronted shop in a public place: a market stall | a
fruitstall | a bookstall 2 an indoor enclosure for an animal:
The cattle are in their stalls. 3 any of a row of fixed usually
roofed seats along the sides in the central part of some large
churches: the choir stalls 4 a small enclosure inside a room:
a separate shower stall in the bathroom 5 a FINGERSTALL ->
see also STALLS
stall² v 1 [I;T] a) (of an engine or vehicle) to stop because
there is not enough power or speed to keep going: The
engine/car stalled on the hill. b) to cause (an engine or
vehicle) to do this: An inexperienced pilot can easily stall his
plane. 2 [I] infml to delay in order to gain time, avoid taking
a decision etc; intentionally take no action: Stop stalling and
answer my question! 3 [T] infml to deal with by delaying; put
off: Perhaps we can stall the sale until we are sure of having
enough money. | The boss is coming! Stall him for a moment.
stall³ n an act or example of stalling a machine: The plane
went into a stall.
stall-holder /'stɔ:l,həʊldə/ n BrE a person who rents and
keeps a market stall
stallion /'stæljən/ n a fully-grown male horse kept for
breeding -> compare MARE
Stallone, Sylvester /stə'ləʊn, sɪl'vestə/ (1946-) a US
film actor, known for appearing as strong men who are good
at fighting, such as the characters of Rocky, a BOXER, and
Rambo, a US soldier
stalls /stɔ:lz/ n [(the) P] BrE the seats on the main level of a
theatre or cinema: a good seat in the front of the stalls
stal-wart¹ /'stɔ:lwɔ:t||-wɔ:rt/ adj strong and firm in body,
mind, determination etc; STAUNCH: a stalwart
supporter/fighter | stalwart support -ly adv -ness n [U]
stalwart² n a firm dependable follower, especially of a
political party
sta-men /'steɪmən/ n tech the male POLLEN-producing part of
a flower -> see picture at FLOWER
Stam-ford Bridge /stæmfəd 'brɪdʒ||-fərd-/ 1 a village in
northern England where the English King HAROLD II won a
battle against the King of Norway, a short time before he
was killed at the Battle of HASTINGS in 1066 2 the football
ground of Chelsea Football Club in West London
stami-na /'stæmɪnə/ n [U] the strength of body or mind to
fight tiredness, discouragement, or illness: You need great
stamina to run the 10,000 metres.
stammer¹ /'stæmə/ v [I;T(OUT)] to speak or say with pauses
and repeated sounds, either habitually or because of excite-
ment, fear etc: She stammers when she feels nervous. | He
stammered out his thanks. | 'Th-th-thank you,' he stammered.
-> compare STUTTER -er n -ingly adv
stammer² n [C usually sing.] the habit of stammering in
speech: He's got a bad stammer.
stamp¹ /stæmp/ v 1 [+adv/prep] to bring the foot or feet
down hard; step with force: He was stamping about in the
snow trying to keep his feet warm. | She stamped on the insect
and killed it. | stamping around the house in a furious temper |
(fig.) Any opposition or disagreement was quickly stamped on.
(=stopped) 2 [T] to strike downwards with (the foot): She
stamped her feet in anger. 3 [T] to mark (a pattern, sign,
letters etc) on (an object or surface) by pressing: The immi-
gration officer stamped my passport. | [+obj+on] The office
stamps the date on all incoming letters. | [+obj+with] They
stamp all incoming letters with the date. | (fig.) His years in the
army had stamped him with an air of brisk authority. 4 [T]
to stick a stamp onto: Did you remember to stamp that
letter? | Enclose a stamped addressed envelope. 5 [T (as)] to
put into a class or type; CHARACTERIZE: The newspapers had
unfairly stamped him as (=said he was) a liar.
stamp sthg. out phr v [T] 1 to put an end to (usually
something bad) completely: Do you think this new law will
stamp out the illegal drugs trade? 2 to form or produce by
means of heavy pressure from a shaped tool or machine: a
large machine that stamps out car bodies
stamp² n 1 also postage stamp fml a small usually four-sided
piece of paper sold by post offices in various values for
sticking on a letter, parcel etc, to be posted: a 20-cent stamp |
a stamp collector 2 BrE a piece of paper like this for sticking to
certain official papers to show that tax (stamp duty) has been
paid 3 AmE a mark or pattern pressed or printed onto a
paper to show that it is official or that tax has been
paid 4 an instrument or tool for pressing or printing onto a
surface: a date-stamp 5 a mark or pattern made by this: The
stamp in your library book shows it must be returned
tomorrow. 1 (fig., fml) Her remarks bear the stamp of truth.
(=seem true) | (fig.) The traumatic events left their stamp on
(=had a lasting effect on) his mind. 6 an act of stamping,
especially with the foot 7 a TRADING STAMP 8 fml or pomp a
kind; sort: I wouldn't trust a man of his stamp. -> see also
FOOD STAMP, RUBBER STAMP
'Stamp Act, the a British law made in 1765 which put a tax
on Britain's colonies (COLONY) in North America. According
to this law, various documents had to carry a stamp, which
had to be paid for. This caused a lot of anger in the colonies,
and opponents of the law used the phrase 'No taxation
without representation', meaning that it was unfair to make
them pay taxes to Britain when they did not have any
representatives in the British parliament. Although the tax
was removed in 1766, the Stamp Act and the anger that it
caused was one of the events that led to the American
Revolutionary War.
'stamp duty n [U] a tax payable in Britain on certain legal
documents which have to be officially checked
stamped¹ /stæmp'i:d/ n 1 a sudden rush of frightened
animals 2 a sudden mad rush or mass movement: There's
been a stampede to buy gold before the price goes up. 3 AmE &
CanE a RODEO usually also with competitions, shows, danc-
ing etc: The Calgary Stampede
stampede² v [I;T(into)] to (cause to) go in a stampede or
unreasonable rush: a herd of stampeding cattle | Rumours of
a shortage stampeded people into buying up food.
'stamping ground n infml a favourite very familiar place:
This part of town is one of Jack's old stamping grounds.
stance /stɑ:ns||stæns/ n [C usually sing.] 1 a way of standing,
especially when getting ready to hit the ball in various
sports: First take up the correct stance. 2 [(on)] a way of
thinking, especially a publicly-stated position regarding a
particular situation; ATTITUDE: What's your government's
stance on nuclear disarmament?! The President has adopted a
tough stance on terrorism. -> compare POSTURE
stanch /stɑ:ntʃ||st:ntʃ, stæntʃ/ v [T] AmE for STAUNCH
stan-chion /'stɑ:ntʃən||'stæn-/ n a strong bar standing
straight up as a support
stand¹ /stænd/ v stood /stʊd/ TO BE IN, GET INTO, OR PUT INTO
AN UPRIGHT POSITION 1 [I] to support oneself on the feet in
an upright position: I couldn't get a seat on the bus, so I had to
stand. | Don't just stand there; help me. | Stand still while I do
up your buttons. -> see also STAND UP 2 [I;T(UP)] to (cause to)
rise to an upright position: The children all stood (up) when
the head teacher entered the hall. | He stood the little girl on the
wall so that she could see. 3 [+adv/prep] to perform a particu-
lar action or take a particular position while standing: We
stood in a rough circle as she explained her plan. | The soldiers
stood to attention. | Stand back (=step backwards) and let
the doctor through. | Stand clear of the elevator doors, please.
TO BE IN, STAY IN, OR GET INTO A PARTICULAR PLACE OR
POSITION 4 [I;T+obj+adv/prep] to (cause to) rest in a position,
especially upright or on a base: Few houses were left standing
after the bombing raid. | The table stood in the corner. | He
stood the clock on the shelf. | (fig.) These new findings stand the