7 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

stable

adjective

1: resistant to change of position or condition; "a stable ladder"; "a stable peace"; "a stable relationship"; "stable prices" [ant: {unstable}]

2: firm and dependable; subject to little fluctuation; "the economy is stable"

3: not taking part readily in chemical change

4: maintaining equilibrium

5: showing little if any change; "a static population" [syn: {static}, {unchanging}]

noun: a farm building for housing horses or other livestock [syn: {stalls}, {horse barn}]

verb: shelter in a stable; "stable horses"

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Stable \Sta"ble\, verb (used without an object) To dwell or lodge in a stable; to dwell in an inclosed place; to kennel. --Milton.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Stable \Sta"ble\ (st[=a]"b'l), adjective [OF. estable, F. stable, fr. L. stabilis, fr. stare to stand. See {Stand}, verb (used without an object) and cf. {Establish}.]

1. Firmly established; not easily moved, shaken, or overthrown; fixed; as, a stable government.

In this region of chance, . . . where nothing is stable. --Rogers.

2. Steady in purpose; constant; firm in resolution; not easily diverted from a purpose; not fickle or wavering; as, a man of stable character.

And to her husband ever meek and stable. --Chaucer.

3. Durable; not subject to overthrow or change; firm; as, a stable foundation; a stable position.

4. (Physics) So placed as to resist forces tending to cause motion; of such structure as to resist distortion or molecular or chemical disturbance; -- said of any body or substance. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

{Stable equilibrium} (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed that if disturbed it returns to its former position, as in the case when the center of gravity is below the point or axis of support; -- opposed to {unstable equilibrium}, in which the body if disturbed does not tend to return to its former position, but to move farther away from it, as in the case of a body supported at a point below the center of gravity. Cf. {Neutral equilibrium}, under {Neutral}.

Syn: Fixed; steady; constant; abiding; strong; durable; firm.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Stable \Sta"ble\, verb (used with an object) To fix; to establish. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Stable \Sta"ble\, noun [OF. estable, F. ['e]table, from L. stabulum, fr. stare to stand. See {Stand}, verb (used without an object)] A house, shed, or building, for beasts to lodge and feed in; esp., a building or apartment with stalls, for horses; as, a horse stable; a cow stable. --Milton.

{Stable fly} (Zo["o]l.), a common dipterous fly ({Stomoxys calcitrans}) which is abundant about stables and often enters dwellings, especially in autumn; called also {biting house fly}. These flies, unlike the common house flies, which they resemble, bite severely, and are troublesome to horses and cattle. They differ from the larger {horse fly}.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Stable \Sta"ble\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Stabled} (-b'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Stabling} (-bl[i^]ng).] To put or keep in a stable.

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

413 Moby Thesaurus words for "stable": Augean stables, abiding, accordant, accountable, adamantine, age group, age-long, aged, alike, ancient, antique, articulated, assiduous, automatic, balanced, band, barn, battalion, bed, beleaguer, berth, beset, besiege, bevy, billet, blockade, body, bound, box in, brigade, bulky, bunch, bunk, byre, cabal, cage, calculable, cast, catenated, ceaseless, chamber, changeless, chastened, chronic, clique, close in, cohort, company, compass, competent, complement, concatenated, connected, consistent, consonant, constant, constrained, contain, contingent, continual, continued, continuing, continuous, controlled, cool, coop, coop in, coop up, cordon, cordon off, corps, corral, correspondent, coterie, covey, cowbarn, cowbyre, cowhouse, cowshed, crew, crowd, cyclical, deep-rooted, dense, dependable, detachment, detail, devoted, diligent, direct, diuturnal, division, dogged, domicile, domiciliate, dump, durable, encircle, enclose, encompass, endless, enduring, enshrine, entry, equable, equal, established, even, evergreen, faction, fail-safe, faithful, faithworthy, fast, favorite, featureless, fence in, fiducial, firm, firm as Gibraltar, fixed, flat, fleet, frozen, gang, gapless, group, grouping, groupment, guaranteed, harbor, hard, hardy, harmless, heavy, hedge in, hem in, hole, homogeneous, house, house in, hovel, hushed, immediate, immobile, immutable, imperturbable, impound, imprison, in control, in equilibrium, in hand, in-group, inalterable, incarcerate, incessant, include, indefatigable, indomitable, industrious, infrangible, insistent, intact, interminable, intransient, invariable, inveterate, invincible, inviolate, invulnerable, jail, joined, jointless, junta, kennel, lasting, leaguer, level, limited, linked, lodge, long-lasting, long-lived, long-standing, long-term, longeval, longevous, loyal, macrobiotic, made of iron, marble-constant, massive, measured, mechanical, methodic, mew, mew up, mews, mob, monolithic, monotonous, movement, mudder, never-ending, never-tiring, nonstop, obstinate, of a piece, of long duration, of long standing, ordered, orderly, out-group, outfit, pack, party, patient, patient as Job, peer group, pen, pen in, perdurable, perduring, perennial, periodic, permanent, perpetual, perseverant, persevering, persistent, persisting, pertinacious, pesthole, phalanx, pigpen, pigsty, plague spot, plate horse, plater, platoon, plodding, plugging, pocket, poised, pole horse, pony, posse, predictable, preoccupied, put up, quarantine, quarter, quelled, quiescent, race horse, racer, rail in, rapt, reasonable, recurrent, regiment, regular, relentless, reliable, remaining, repetitive, resolute, responsible, restrained, rigid, riskless, robotlike, rookery, room, round-the-clock, rugged, running, safe, salon, sane, seamless, secure, sedulous, sempervirent, sensible, serried, set, shelter, shrine, shut in, shut up, single-minded, sleepless, slogging, slum, smooth, solid, sound, squad, stabile, stake horse, staker, stall, starter, static, stationary, staunch, staying, steadfast, steady, steeplechaser, stout, straight, string, strong, stubborn, sturdy, sty, subdued, substantial, sure, surefire, surround, sustained, systematic, team, tempered, tenacious, tenement, the slums, tireless, torpid, tough, tribe, troop, troupe, true, true-blue, trustworthy, trusty, twenty-four-hour, unabating, unalterable, unaltered, unassailable, unbreakable, unbroken, unceasing, unchangeable, unchanged, unchanging, unchecked, unconquerable, undangerous, undaunted, undestroyed, undeviating, undifferentiated, undiscouraged, undiversified, undrooping, unending, unfading, unfailing, unfaltering, unflagging, unflappable, unflinching, unhazardous, uniform, unintermitted, unintermittent, unintermitting, uninterrupted, unnodding, unperilous, unprecarious, unrelaxing, unrelenting, unrelieved, unremitting, unrisky, unruffled, unshakable, unshifting, unsleeping, unstopped, unswerving, untiring, unvaried, unvarying, unwavering, unwearied, unwearying, unwinking, unyielding, utterly attentive, vital, wall in, warranteed, warren, weariless, well-balanced, well-built, well-constructed, well-founded, well-grounded, well-made, wing, without nerves, wrap, yard, yard up

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