<B>stably, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a stable manner; firmly; fixedly; securely. </DL>
<A NAME="stacc">
<B>stacc.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> staccato. </DL>
<A NAME="staccato">
<B>staccato, </B>adjective, adverb, noun, pl. <B>-tos</B> or <B>-ti.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>(Music.) with breaks between the successive tones; detached; disconnected. <BR> <I>Ex. His piano Bach is in the approved lighter, percussive, and staccato style (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) abrupt. <BR> <I>Ex. Her manner to her husband was ... a little staccato; she was nervous (Margaret Kennedy).</I> <DD><I>adv. </I> (Music.) in a staccato manner. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>(Music.) a succession of disconnected or staccato notes; passage played in a staccato manner. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) anything of an abrupt or disconnected nature, as speech. <BR> <I>Ex. His characters converse with curt clinical efficiency. This staccato creates a delicious undercurrent of venom (Punch).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="staccatomark">
<B>staccato mark,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) a dot or pointed stroke added over or under a note to indicate a staccato rendering. </DL>
<A NAME="stack">
<B>stack, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a large pile of hay, straw, or grain in the sheaf. Haystacks are often round and arranged so as to shed water. <DD><B> 2. </B>an orderly pile, heap, or group of anything. <BR> <I>Ex. a stack of wood, a stack of boxes.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a number of chimneys, flues, or pipes standing together in one group. <BR> <I>Ex. a stack of chimneys.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a chimney or funnel as of a factory, locomotive, or steamship. <DD><B> 5. </B>a number of rifles arranged to support each other on the ground in a cone or pyramid with their muzzles together. <DD><B> 6. </B>a rack with shelves for books. <DD><B> 7. </B>a pile of poker chips, usually 20, sold by the banker to a player. <DD><B> 8. </B>an English unit of measure for cut wood or coal, equal to 108 cubic feet. <DD><B> 9. </B>a tall pillar of rock, detached from the main part of a cliff, and rising out of the sea. <DD><B> 10. </B>an arrangement of airplanes at different altitudes above an airport, awaiting landing instructions. <DD><B> 11. </B>(Informal, Figurative.) a large number or quantity. <BR> <I>Ex. a stack of compliments. Sometimes a stack of people would come there (Mark Twain).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to pile, arrange, or build in a stack. <BR> <I>Ex. to stack hay, to stack firewood, to stack rifles.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to fill or load with stacks of something. <BR> <I>Ex. The left hand half of every step of the stairs was stacked with books (Arnold Bennett).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to arrange (playing cards) unfairly. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) to arrange in such a way as to force or urge a predisposed result; load. <BR> <I>Ex. This committee is one of two or three in the House whose memberships are stacked to give the majority party substantial control (New York Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>blow one's stack,</B> </I>(Slang.) to lose one's temper. <BR> <I>Ex. It takes ... three times the normal self-control necessary to keep from blowing your stack over trifles (Saturday Evening Post).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>stacks,</B> </I>in libraries: <DD><B> a. </B>the part of a library in which the main collection of books is shelved. <BR> <I>Ex. He is up in the library stacks of our Investment Research department (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a large bookcase, usually accessible from both sides. <BR> <I>Ex. the top shelf of the stacks.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>a number of bookcases arranged so as to save space. <BR> <I>Ex. to return borrowed books to the stacks.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>stack up,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to pile materials on to make (a fire). </I> <I>Ex. We stacked up the fire (H. Rider Haggard).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to pile up one's chips at poker. <BR> <I>Ex. to stack up before dealing.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>(Informal, Figurative.) to measure up; compare (against). <BR> <I>Ex. Stacked up against what's happening in the industry, these actions point to far-reaching changes (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> d. </B>to arrange (aircraft) at different altitudes above an airport. <BR> <I>Ex. Jet planes cannot be stacked up at the landing site while awaiting landing instructions (Science News Letter).</I> noun <B>stacker.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stackability">
<B>stackability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the condition of being stackable. </DL>
<A NAME="stackable">
<B>stackable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be stacked. <BR> <I>Ex. stackable tableware.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="stacked">
<B>stacked, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) well-built; voluptuous. <BR> <I>Ex. Can I help it if this Mexican spitfire is fantastically stacked and wears a flimsy blouse? (S. J. Perelman).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="stacker">
<B>stacker, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Dialect.) to totter or reel; stagger. Also, <B>stacher.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stacking">
<B>stacking, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the circling of an airport by aircraft in a controlled pattern while awaiting landing instructions. </DL>
<A NAME="stackroom">
<B>stack room,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a room in a library in which books are stacked. </DL>
<A NAME="stacks">
<B>stacks, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> See under <B>stack.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stacte">
<B>stacte, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a fragrant, sweet spice used by the Hebrews in the holy incense (in the Bible, Exodus 30:34). </DL>
<A NAME="stactometer">
<B>stactometer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument for measuring a liquid in drops. </DL>
<A NAME="staddle">
<B>staddle, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the lower part of a stack of hay, straw, or the like. <DD><B> 2. </B>the platform on which this stands. <DD><B> 3. </B>a supporting framework. Also, <B>stadle.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stade">
<B>stade</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an ancient unit of linear measure; stadium. </DL>
<A NAME="stade">
<B>stade</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Geology.) a subdivision of a glacial stage; the period of time represented by a glacial substratum. </DL>
<A NAME="stadholder">
<B>stadholder, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the chief executive of the former republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. <DD><B> 2. </B>(originally) the viceroy or governor of a province in the Netherlands. Also, <B>stadtholder.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stadholderate">
<B>stadholderate, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the office of stadholder. <DD><B> 2. </B>the rule or government of a stadholder. <DD><B> 3. </B>a province or state governed by a stadholder. Also, <B>stadtholderate.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stadholdership">
<B>stadholdership, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the office of stadholder. Also, <B>stadtholdership.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stadia">
<B>stadia</B> (1), noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an instrument for measuring distances or heights by means of angles. A surveyor's transit is one kind of stadia. <DD><B> 2. </B>a method of measuring distances by using such an instrument. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=stadia rod.</B> <DD><B> 4. </B>a surveying station. <DD><B> 5. </B>a crude type of range finder consisting of a graduated rod held vertically at arm's length to indicate the distance of the target. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with surveying by means of a stadia. </DL>
<A NAME="stadia">
<B>stadia</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a plural of <B>stadium.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stadial">
<B>stadial, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Geology.) <DD><I>noun </I> a subdivision of a glacial stage; stade. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with such a subdivision. </DL>
<A NAME="stadiarod">
<B>stadia rod,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a staff or graduated rod placed at one end of the distance to be measured by a stadia. </DL>
<A NAME="stadimeter">
<B>stadimeter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an optical instrument for measuring distances of objects, especially ships, of which the heights are known. </DL>
<A NAME="stadiometer">
<B>stadiometer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an instrument consisting of a rolling wheel with spaced teeth, used for measuring the length of a line or curve. <DD><B> 2. </B>a modified theodolite in which the directions are not read off but marked upon a small sheet, which is changed at each station. </DL>
<A NAME="stadium">
<B>stadium, </B>noun, pl. <B>-diums</B> or <B>-dia.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a place shaped like an oval or a U, consisting of tiers of seats around an open field. <BR> <I>Ex. The stadium was filled for the final baseball game.</I> (SYN) amphitheater. <DD><B> 2. </B>an ancient Greek running track for footraces, with tiers of seats along each side and at one end. The stadium at Athens was about 607 feet long. <DD><B> 3. </B>a unit of linear measure used in various parts of the ancient world, varying according to time and place, but most commonly equal to slightly over 600 feet or 1/8 of a Roman mile. <DD><B> 4a. </B>(Biology.) a stage of a process. <DD><B> b. </B>a stage of a disease. </DL>
