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| stale [ stayl ] |
adjective (comparative stal·er, superlative stal·est) |
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| Definition: |
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1. kept too long: no longer fresh
  This bread has gone stale.
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2. low in oxygen: stagnant and low in oxygen owing to lack of circulation or ventilation
stale air
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3. frequently heard and boring: heard too often before and no longer interesting or amusing
his stale old jokes
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4. out of condition: ineffective, enervated, or bored because of doing too much of the same thing
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5. law legally expired: having lost legal force through lack of use or elapse of time
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6. banking not negotiable because of delay: describes financial statements or checks that are not negotiable by a bank because a time limit has expired
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transitive and intransitive verb (past and past participle staled, present participle stal·ing, 3rd person present singular stales) |
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| Definition: |
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lose freshness: to become stale, or make something become stale
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| [13th century. < Old French estale "settled" < estal "standing place" < Germanic] |
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| stale·ly adverb |
| stale·ness noun |
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