staler; stalest
1
: tasteless or unpalatable from age
stale bread
2
: tedious from familiarity
a stale routine
3
: impaired in legal force or effect by reason of being allowed to rest without timely use, action, or demand
a stale affidavit
a stale debt
4
: impaired in vigor or effectiveness
staleness
noun
staled; staling
: to become stale
: urine of a domestic animal (such as a horse)
Synonyms
Examples of stale in a Sentence
Adjective
a room filled with stale smoke
viewers were bored by the stale story lines of the new crop of sitcoms
Recent Examples on the Web
Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
About the same as [Sam’s Club], but [Costco] tasted stale.
—Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
In short, partisan echo chambers are stale, musty spaces that lack the sort of oppositional views needed to make social media tick.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
All comedians have tics and crutches, even the very good ones who aim to generate moments that feel spontaneous and true in lieu of repeating an act that’s grown stale.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
New shareholders would be inheriting ownership of a brand that many felt had turned stale.
—Byallie Garfinkle, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2024
The cards shuffled, the chips clicked, and a faint scent of stale beer hung in the air.
—Julia Rafal-Baer, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Use leftover hot dog buns, stale sandwich bread, or dinner rolls.
—Micah A Leal, Southern Living, 25 Mar. 2024
But his deep speed and run-after-catch ability would add vital explosiveness to a passing attack that has grown far too stale.
—Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
Rita Dove, Bon Appétit, 8 Aug. 2023
Blinkie’s Donut Emporium, owned by a Cambodian American father-daughter duo, offers handmade donuts daily, always closing at noon so their selection never stales.
—Theo Stroomer, National Geographic, 5 June 2019
The product has staled compared to the previous standards.
—Mac Engel, star-telegram, 27 Jan. 2018
Set collection is a particularly satisfying mechanism but one that stales easily; Fabled Fruit tweaks the formula in every game to bypass that problem.
—Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2017
Petty theft, Clifton Boulevard: Police were called to CVS Pharmacy about 2 a.m. Oct. 12 on a report of a man staling body wash items and leaving in a car.
—Bruce Geiselman, cleveland.com, 22 Oct. 2017
While the bread is staling, combine blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, sugar and lemon juice in a large saucepan over low heat.
—Robin Mather, Detroit Free Press, 8 July 2017
Time may have withered her, to misquote Shakespeare, but custom will never stale this mother’s infinite, and exasperating, variety.
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2016
Theo Stroomer, National Geographic, 5 June 2019
The product has staled compared to the previous standards.
—Mac Engel, star-telegram, 27 Jan. 2018
Set collection is a particularly satisfying mechanism but one that stales easily; Fabled Fruit tweaks the formula in every game to bypass that problem.
—Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2017
Petty theft, Clifton Boulevard: Police were called to CVS Pharmacy about 2 a.m. Oct. 12 on a report of a man staling body wash items and leaving in a car.
—Bruce Geiselman, cleveland.com, 22 Oct. 2017
Yec, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2023
Is the information being presented by the F.B.I. to the court stale?
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2022
But Vikings players and fans ask: How exactly will this 2022 outfit differ from its previous edition that some called stale and insufficiently aggressive?
—Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, 1 June 2022
That would be almond croissants, in which a nut paste is spread and baked into stale or day-old pastries.
—Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2021
Danielle escapes to the buffet to finger stale-looking pastries, sandwiches filled with mayonnaise-y salads, gloopy pasta.
—Jocelyn Silver, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2021
The first bite crunched into the burger’s onion rings and thick pretzel bun, which was a cut above Wendy’s usual signature, stale-to-the-touch buns.
—Phillip Valys, sun-sentinel.com, 10 Nov. 2020
As the supply of equities shrinks, developed nations from the U.S. to Japan are turning stale.
—Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2019
Did McCarthy’s offense get stale in Green Bay at the end?
—Dallas News, 14 Jan. 2020
Adjective
For gripes about the stale array of doctor’s-office magazines, there has been Larry.
—Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
About the same as [Sam’s Club], but [Costco] tasted stale.
—Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
In short, partisan echo chambers are stale, musty spaces that lack the sort of oppositional views needed to make social media tick.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
All comedians have tics and crutches, even the very good ones who aim to generate moments that feel spontaneous and true in lieu of repeating an act that’s grown stale.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
New shareholders would be inheriting ownership of a brand that many felt had turned stale.
—Byallie Garfinkle, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2024
The cards shuffled, the chips clicked, and a faint scent of stale beer hung in the air.
—Julia Rafal-Baer, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Use leftover hot dog buns, stale sandwich bread, or dinner rolls.
—Micah A Leal, Southern Living, 25 Mar. 2024
But his deep speed and run-after-catch ability would add vital explosiveness to a passing attack that has grown far too stale.
—Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
Verb
Stone Fruit Brown Betty Got summer fruit and a few slices of staling sandwich bread?
—Rita Dove, Bon Appétit, 8 Aug. 2023
Blinkie’s Donut Emporium, owned by a Cambodian American father-daughter duo, offers handmade donuts daily, always closing at noon so their selection never stales.
—Theo Stroomer, National Geographic, 5 June 2019
The product has staled compared to the previous standards.
—Mac Engel, star-telegram, 27 Jan. 2018
Set collection is a particularly satisfying mechanism but one that stales easily; Fabled Fruit tweaks the formula in every game to bypass that problem.
—Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2017
Petty theft, Clifton Boulevard: Police were called to CVS Pharmacy about 2 a.m. Oct. 12 on a report of a man staling body wash items and leaving in a car.
—Bruce Geiselman, cleveland.com, 22 Oct. 2017
While the bread is staling, combine blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, sugar and lemon juice in a large saucepan over low heat.
—Robin Mather, Detroit Free Press, 8 July 2017
Time may have withered her, to misquote Shakespeare, but custom will never stale this mother’s infinite, and exasperating, variety.
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2016
Verb
Blinkie’s Donut Emporium, owned by a Cambodian American father-daughter duo, offers handmade donuts daily, always closing at noon so their selection never stales.
—Theo Stroomer, National Geographic, 5 June 2019
The product has staled compared to the previous standards.
—Mac Engel, star-telegram, 27 Jan. 2018
Set collection is a particularly satisfying mechanism but one that stales easily; Fabled Fruit tweaks the formula in every game to bypass that problem.
—Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2017
Petty theft, Clifton Boulevard: Police were called to CVS Pharmacy about 2 a.m. Oct. 12 on a report of a man staling body wash items and leaving in a car.
—Bruce Geiselman, cleveland.com, 22 Oct. 2017
Noun
One trait of stale and out-of-touch leadership teams is a disconnect between seniority levels.
—Yec, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2023
Is the information being presented by the F.B.I. to the court stale?
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2022
But Vikings players and fans ask: How exactly will this 2022 outfit differ from its previous edition that some called stale and insufficiently aggressive?
—Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, 1 June 2022
That would be almond croissants, in which a nut paste is spread and baked into stale or day-old pastries.
—Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2021
Danielle escapes to the buffet to finger stale-looking pastries, sandwiches filled with mayonnaise-y salads, gloopy pasta.
—Jocelyn Silver, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2021
The first bite crunched into the burger’s onion rings and thick pretzel bun, which was a cut above Wendy’s usual signature, stale-to-the-touch buns.
—Phillip Valys, sun-sentinel.com, 10 Nov. 2020
As the supply of equities shrinks, developed nations from the U.S. to Japan are turning stale.
—Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2019
Did McCarthy’s offense get stale in Green Bay at the end?
—Dallas News, 14 Jan. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stale.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near stale
Cite this Entry
“Stale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stale. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
stale
1 of 2 adjective
staler; stalest
1
: having lost a good taste or quality from age
stale food
2
: used or heard so often as to be dull
stale news
3
: not so strong, effective, or energetic as before
felt stale from lack of exercise
staleness
noun
stale
2 of 2 verb
staled; staling
: to make or become stale
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