stable
noun/ˈsteɪbl/
/ˈsteɪbl/
Word Family
Idioms - stable adjective (≠ unstable)
- stably adverb
- stability noun (≠ instability)
- stabilize verb
- stabilizer noun
- [countable] a building in which horses are kept
- The horse was led back to its stable.
- (British English also stables)[countable + singular or plural verb] an organization that keeps horses for a particular purpose
- (British English) a riding/racing stables
- His stables are near Oxford.
- [countable] a group of racehorses owned or trained by the same person
- There have been just three winners from his stable this season.
- [singular] a group of people who work or trained in the same place; a group of products made by the same company
- actors from the same stable
- the latest printer from the Epson stable
Word Originnoun Middle English: shortening of Old French estable ‘stable, pigsty’, from Latin stabulum, from the base of stare ‘to stand’.
Idioms
See stable in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryclose, lock, etc. the stable door after the horse has bolted (British English)
(North American English close, lock, etc. the barn door after the horse has escaped)
- to try to prevent or avoid loss or damage when it is already too late to do so
Check pronunciation:
stable