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stay

noun · verb

Stay can refer to the state of inactivity following an interruption, continuing or remaining in a place or state, or a judicial order forbidding some action until an event occurs or the order is lifted. As a verb, stay can mean to be in a certain place and not leave, stay the same; remain in a certain state, or continue in a place, position, or situation.

14 meanings4 lettersScrabble 7

Length

4

Scrabble

7

WWF

6

Starts

ST

Ends

TAY

Difficulty

Easy

Dictionary

What Does “STAY” Mean?

stay has 14 documented senses across noun, verb.

Noun

5 senses
1

continuing or remaining in a place or state

they had a nice stay in Paris

a lengthy hospital stay

a four-month stay in bankruptcy court

2

the state of inactivity following an interruption

the negotiations were in arrest

held them in check

during the halt he got some lunch

the momentary stay enabled him to escape the blow

3

a judicial order forbidding some action until an event occurs or the order is lifted

the Supreme Court has the power to stay an injunction pending an appeal to the whole Court

4

a thin strip of metal or bone that is used to stiffen a garment (e.g. a corset)

5

(nautical) brace consisting of a heavy rope or wire cable used as a support for a mast or spar

Verb

9 senses
1

stay the same; remain in a certain state

The dress remained wet after repeated attempts to dry it

rest assured

stay alone

He remained unmoved by her tears

Synonyms

2

be in a certain place and not leave

We are staying in Detroit; we are not moving to Cincinnati

Stay put in the corner here!

Stick around and you will learn something!

3

dwell

You can stay with me while you are in town

stay a bit longer — the day is still young

Synonyms

4

continue in a place, position, or situation

After graduation, she stayed on in Cambridge as a student adviser

Stay with me, please

despite student protests, he remained Dean for another year

She continued as deputy mayor for another year

5

stop or halt

Please stay the bloodshed!

Synonyms

6

hang on during a trial of endurance

ride out the storm

Synonyms

Show 3 more verb definitions
7

stop a judicial process

The judge stayed the execution order

8

fasten with stays

9

overcome or allay

quell my hunger

Synonyms

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

4

Vowels

1

Consonants

3

Word Intelligence

Explore the word stay with its definition, score, letter pattern, and useful word game details.

Definition

continuing or remaining in a place or state

Length

4 letters

Starts With

S

Ends With

Y

Vowels

1

Consonants

3

Letters

S, T, A, Y

Use Case

Useful for Scrabble, Wordle, crosswords, anagrams, and other word games.

Letter Breakdown

s
t
a
y

Word Facts

Key letter, score, and pattern facts for stay.

STAY is a 4-letter word.
It has a Scrabble score of 7.
It starts with S and ends with Y.
It contains 1 vowel and 3 consonants.
Its vowel share is about 25%.
It is an isogram, meaning no letter repeats.
It is not a palindrome.
Letter pattern: ABCD.
Vowel/consonant pattern: CCVC.

Word Strategy

Strategy notes for using stay in Scrabble, Wordle-style games, crosswords, and anagram solving.

Scrabble Strategy

★★★☆☆

STAY has a Scrabble score of 7. It is useful for balancing a rack and building steady board position.

Wordle Strategy

★★☆☆☆

STAY is not five letters, so it is not a standard Wordle answer, but its letter pattern can still help with word analysis.

Crossword Strategy

★★★★☆

STAY can be useful in crossword solving because it has a clear starting letter, ending letter, and 4-letter structure.

Anagram Strategy

★★★★☆

STAY uses unique letters, giving more flexibility when checking possible anagrams and word game combinations.

Letter Intelligence

A deeper look at the letter structure, patterns, and useful game signals inside stay.

Unique Letters

4

Repeated Letters

0

Highest Value Letter

Y

Letter Pattern

ABCD

CV Pattern

CCVC

Vowel Share

25%

Consonant Share

75%

Bigrams

ST, TA, AY

Trigrams

STA, TAY

Crossword Intelligence

Crossword-style clues, crossing help, and pattern notes for stay.

STAY is a 4-letter short fill.
It starts with S and ends with Y, which helps narrow crossword crossings.
It contains 1 vowel and 3 consonants.
Its vowel/consonant pattern is CCVC.
Crossword difficulty estimate: Easy.

Related Words

Word Usage Insights

Practical observations about how this word performs in different word games and puzzle situations.

This word contains 4 letters and is suitable for medium-length word games.
Its consonant/vowel pattern is CCVC, making it relatively challenging to recognize.
With a Scrabble score of 7, it offers moderate scoring potential.
The word begins with S and ends with Y, making it useful for solving pattern-based puzzles.
Every letter appears only once.

Word Intelligence Links

Explore word lists connected to STAY by length, score, vowels, consonants, starting letters, ending letters, and word game tools.

Word Family

Explore words that share a similar beginning or root pattern with stay.

Related Word Tools

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