What is "organ stop"

n. 1 any of many knobs near the keyboard of an organ used to select different sounds or timbres 2 the timbre so produced

n. a graduated set of organ pipes of like tone quality

An organ stop (or just stop) is a component of a pipe organ that admits pressurized air (known as wind) to a set of organ pipes. Its name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist; some can be "on" (admitting the passage of air to certain pipes), while others can be "off" (stopping the passage of air to certain pipes).

The term can also refer to the control that operates this mechanism, commonly called a stop tab, stop knob, or drawknob. On electric or electronic organs that imitate a pipe organ, the same terms are often used, with the exception of the Hammond organ and clonewheel organs, which use the term " drawbar".

The term is also sometimes used as a synonym for register, referring to rank(s) of pipes controlled by a single stop. Registration is the art of combining stops. The phrase "pull out all the stops" has entered general usage, for deploying all available means to pursue a goal.