stop

Universal Words verb, noun verb (-pp-) not move 1 to no longer move; to make sb/sth no longer move: [V] The car stopped at the traffic lights. * Ann stopped in front of the house. * This train doesn't stop at Royston. * We stopped for the night in Port Augusta. * [VN] He was stopped by the police for speeding. not continue 2 to no longer continue to do sth; to make sb/sth no longer do sth: [V-ing] That phone never stops ringing! * Please stop crying and tell me what's wrong. * [V] She criticizes everyone and the trouble is, she doesn't know when to stop. * (spoken) Can't you just stop? * [VN] Stop me (= make me stop talking) if I'm boring you. * (spoken) Stop it! You're hurting me. * [Vwh-] Mike immediately stopped what he was doing. HELPNOTE Notice the difference between stop doing sth and stop to do sth: We stopped taking pictures. means 'We were no longer taking pictures.'; We stopped to take pictures. means 'We stopped what we were doing so that we could start taking pictures.' end 3 to end or finish; to make sth end or finish: [V] When is this fighting going to stop? * The bus service stops at midnight. * [V-ing] Has it stopped raining yet? * [VN] Doctors couldn't stop the bleeding. * The referee was forced to stop the game because of heavy snow. prevent 4 ~ sb/sth (from doing sth)