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stable
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
stable
I.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a secure/stable home (=a caring family without a lot of changes)
▪ He had grown up in a stable home.
a stable environment (=without any big changes)
▪ They argued that being married helps provide a stable environment for bringing up children.
list sb in fair/stable etc condition
▪ Several passengers were listed in critical condition.
riding school/stables (=place where people learn to ride horses)
stable boy
stable girl
stable (=not likely to rise or fall suddenly)
▪ The government want to maintain a stable currency.
stable (=steady, rather than being strong then weak)
▪ The economy has been relatively stable for the last two or three years.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
as
▪ Santorini is about as stable as the proverbial blancmange.
▪ He also received surgery at Broomfield Hospital, and his condition was later described as stable.
▪ A society with n independent currencies should be times as stable as one with a single currency.
▪ His condition yesterday was described as stable and comfortable.
▪ Nothing in this countryside is ever as stable as people would like it to be.
▪ A hospital spokesman said: Paul is still ill, but can now be described as stable.
fairly
▪ Monetarists argue that the demand for money is inelastic with respect to interest rates and also fairly stable over time.
▪ Probably, although surely there is a core of fairly stable synapses.
▪ This proportionate share of crime has remained fairly stable during the past decade.
▪ After the Second World War, the numbers received annually kept fairly stable, unlike the parallel figures for men.
▪ Prices of cocaine, crack and heroin were fairly stable in 1989 and 1990.
▪ Since then immigration has been fairly stable.
▪ Secondly, under a wide variety of circumstances, what we see in various situations remains fairly stable.
▪ The details of its internal structure varied somewhat from time to time, but the main lines remained fairly stable.
less
▪ Most attention has been directed at the in-migrants and out-migrants to the exclusion of a core of more or less stable groups.
▪ On a geologic time scale of millions to hundreds of millions of years, Earth is far less stable.
▪ There was particular caution where London was concerned since communities were less stable.
▪ The presence of hydrogen means they are less stable in the atmosphere, leading to a greatly reduced atmospheric residence time.
▪ This suggests the Whites were a more transient, less stable population.
▪ External frames are sometimes available, but are less stable to carry.
▪ Howard protested about overcrowding in conditions of a more or less stable prison population.
▪ His material fortunes always seemed to be less stable than those of most rich men.
more
▪ By mid-1983, more stable oil prices helped slow the rate of inflation, and employment prospects looked rather brighter.
▪ This is in contrast to most enzymes which are more stable refrigerated or frozen. 313.
▪ Gurney reckons this design makes the bike more stable because the centre of gravity is lower.
▪ Windows 95, as part of its multitasking features, is more stable in other ways, too.
▪ The mooring is more stable and less vulnerable to weather than that at Dunbar.
▪ I can report that this version is more stable, with one exception.
▪ Since electrons are more stable when paired together in orbitals, radicals are generally more reactive than non-radicals.
most
▪ The aim is to find the most stable balance achievable, at the lowest possible level.
▪ Milken devised a way to transform the bonds of the most stable companies to junk: leveraged corporate take-overs.
▪ The community that showed the most stable and consistent patterns of gender-differentiation was the East Belfast Ballymacarrett community.
▪ The method used to build the most stable and convenient structure possible will vary with the soil texture and climate.
▪ Quartz, on the other hand, is the most stable and crystallizes at the lowest temperature.
▪ Its body shape means it is one of the most stable road vehicles in crosswinds.
▪ Since the future mouth region provides the most stable contact sites, the gut is pulled gradually to that region.
▪ This means that water is not in its most stable state at this temperature and pressure.
reasonably
▪ The United States had provided a reasonably stable inflationary ceiling up to the mid-sixties.
▪ For these reasons, most finns strive to maintain a reasonably stable dividend payment from year to year.
▪ At one level this has enabled him to achieve the considerable feat of maintaining reasonably stable government for more than twenty years.
▪ High slack systems are those organizations operating with an abundance of resources in reasonably stable and minimally competitive environments.
▪ In fact the adduct was reasonably stable at room temperature and in solutions of up to 20 percent water content.
relatively
▪ However, the prices of rugs from each individual weaving group remain relatively stable in relation to those of others.
▪ The existence of rules that ensure that complex and relatively stable structures emerge in the universe suggests an intelligent rule-giver.
▪ This is why the pound has been relatively stable against the dollar.
▪ Thus the relatively stable East Midlands Platform has not undergone post-Permian vertical movements of some 2500 m indicated by the vitrinite data.
▪ Exchange rates have also been relatively stable in the last two years.
▪ That happened in 1990, not last year, when the figures were relatively stable.
▪ By contrast the middle-class area has a relatively stable and prosperous population.
very
▪ This is a very stable tent with ample room.
▪ He was clearly not a very stable person.
▪ So far we have not lost any member because of the recession, largely because our membership is very stable financially.
▪ Buckminsterfullerene is a very stable molecule made of pure carbon.
▪ Most polar fish live in waters at temperature that are very stable and close to 0°C.
▪ Happily, it was generally very stable air when we did this.
▪ For many months there was a very stable weather pattern affecting most of the northern hemisphere.
▪ And it grips the road well and feels very stable in comparison to others in the supermini class.
■ NOUN
block
▪ The three white mares shared their stable block with a group of Shetland ponies.
▪ At the side of the house, across a cobbled yard, lay an L-shaped stable block.
▪ Only the stable block now survives as Elizabeth would have seen it.
▪ No sign of Ward, but I could hear the murmur of voices from the direction of the stable block.
▪ They disappeared into the stable block.
▪ The Tudor stable block contains an exhibition about the Battle of Quebec.
▪ An old stable block houses the Garden Centre Shop with an exclusive range of products, gifts and plants.
▪ The garage was part of the stable block and had been made out of the old coach house.
condition
▪ The bistable will now be in a stable condition.
▪ He is in stable condition in the intensive care unit at Kaiser Medical Center in Vallejo.
▪ Last night the hospitals said Jason was poorly and Neil was in a stable condition.
▪ Tonight the baby is in a critical but stable condition in hospital.
▪ A nursing supervisor Monday morning said they were in stable condition.
▪ Tonight he's in a critical, but stable condition.
▪ He was listed in stable condition.
currency
▪ Most people want to be paid in a valuable, stable currency that is a sound store of wealth.
▪ A country that maintains a strong banking system and a strong, stable currency reaps real rewards.
▪ Then, both of the conditions on which authentic democracy depends, near-full employment and a stable currency, will have gone.
▪ And a stable currency gives industry a chance to realise the potential released by the reforms of the 1990s.
▪ We will promote enterprise through low taxes, sound money and a stable currency.
democracy
▪ It really is rather unusual for a more or less stable democracy to undertake changes of this scope in peacetime.
▪ Yet the path to stable democracy, efficient market economy and social justice is a hard one. 5.
▪ Open and moderate partisanship, then, are essential to a stable democracy.
door
▪ The top half of the stable door was open but Waldegrave had apparently closed the bottom behind him.
▪ Corrigan remembered the people coming up to the stable door and begging food or work.
▪ Unfortunately I had shut the stable door after the horse had fled.
▪ Control in most cases is ex post facto and akin to closing the stable door when the horse has bolted.
▪ This really was an attempt to bolt the stable door after the horses had bolted.
▪ His hand was stroking a rug flung over the stable door.
▪ To lock up young car thieves is another example of bolting the stable door after the horse has fled.
▪ Though it's a bit like shutting the stable door.
environment
▪ The bureaucratic style can be very efficient in a stable environment and when the organisation is of a large size.
▪ It was an inexpensive, safe, stable environment for families while they got back on their feet.
▪ Once you've done them, people expect them to happen again and that takes away from a stable environment.
▪ But although the sea is overall a stable environment, it is not unvarying.
▪ Until now it was assumed that sites deep underground provided a stable environment for buried waste.
▪ If the organisation is in a stable environment then such formality may be no bad thing.
▪ Unhealthy Environment A stable environment can, unfortunately, be an unhealthy one.
▪ Animals rarely live in completely stable environments.
government
▪ Our aim will be the creation of stable government for a whole Parliament and a more democratic basis for future elections.
▪ Our goal is a stable government there, carrying on a struggle to maintain its national independence.
▪ The revisionist theorists were also, however, much concerned with strong and stable government.
▪ Investors hoped then the team of ex-Communist leaders would bring quicker reforms and a more stable government.
▪ It is hoped that a stable government-of whatever party-will emerge from this month's election.
▪ He and other analysts figure that formation of a stable government would draw in more foreign investment, buoying the market.
▪ But there is a long way to go before he establishes a stable government that can put these qualities into action.
▪ At one level this has enabled him to achieve the considerable feat of maintaining reasonably stable government for more than twenty years.
isotope
▪ Each case has to be considered on its merits where an ambiguous answer emerges from the stable isotope data.
▪ A stable isotope of potassium, 9K, is converted to 39Ar by neutron bombardment of the sample to be dated.
lad
▪ A young stable lad led out another horse, and stood waiting for the one which the smith had almost finished shoeing.
▪ He was a stable lad at Kingsley House, Middleham, at the time.
price
▪ For the people, this meant stable price levels, rising living standards, and increased employment opportunities.
▪ Hence $ 3 is the only stable price of corn under the supply and demand conditions shown in Table 4-8.
▪ Government was able to claim to have maintained full employment, an expanding economy, stable prices, and a strong pound.
relationship
▪ The others lack the faculties to stay in sport and so lose the option to form a stable relationship with the coach.
▪ And it gives those of us with a history of less stable relationships a certain amount of hope for the future!
▪ Lesbian lovers are not nasty, they are told, but women involved in stable relationships.
▪ Some older teenagers are married or in stable relationships within which having a baby is a wanted event.
▪ Of 88 opioid users in stable relationships, 43 percent stated that their partner also used drugs.
▪ To finance any investment plans decided on by his board, he kept a pretty stable relationship with the firm's banks.
▪ About half said they were in stable relationships.
▪ The father, who had established a stable relationship with another woman, wanted the children to live with him.
society
▪ He has no memory of any such difficulties, only of how stable society was then.
▪ A little religion is thought, furthermore, to be the way to reduce crime and promote a stable society.
▪ It was an unspectacular, stable society, like the Basque Provinces enjoying a large degree of local autonomy.
▪ Thus an ordered and stable society requires shared norms and values.
state
▪ Species, then, are real, even if they do not represent different stable states of matter.
▪ This occurs when the disturbance is dissipated by direct return to a strongly stable state.
▪ It produces a state of homeostasis, a mechanism which enables a system to remain in a stable state through time.
▪ This means that water is not in its most stable state at this temperature and pressure.
▪ It must have reached thermodynamic equilibrium over the years, and represents the most stable state for this composition.
▪ The most stable state of could well be polystyrene; that of might well be polyester.
▪ Connecting a diode in parallel with the capacitor C converts the astable multivibrator into a monostable multivibrator with one stable state.
▪ From time to time various members of this population will move from a stable state to having a special status.
yard
▪ They rode out of the stable yard.
▪ Mary had been playing with some other children in the stable yard and had suddenly fainted.
▪ Then we parted, I went on and she went back with Blazer to the stable yard.
▪ The stable yard fraternity is seldom short of the picturesque word.
▪ It was a stable yard all right.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ a stable family environment
▪ a stable government
▪ Fuel prices have become more stable after several increases last year.
▪ His temperature remained stable throughout the night.
▪ Most people described her as a stable, intelligent woman.
▪ That chair doesn't look very stable.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But these sports are introduced against a stable background.
▪ Given these planning parameters, one would predict a stable residential village with some river-related industrial growth.
▪ In particular it seems to be required to be quiet, stable and relatively slow.
▪ The mammalian gut has been stable for many millennia and acts to constrain the flexibility of E. coli's genome.
▪ This is a very stable tent with ample room.
▪ Yet with material security and a stable culture, all of them parented more successfully than their own parents had.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
new
▪ Nicholson's fine form since his move to new stables over the summer adds to confidence.
riding
▪ Tennis courts and riding stables are planned for summer 1992.
▪ She hated school and left at sixteen to go and train in a riding stables to be an instructor.
▪ Now back working at her own riding stables, Anne Haine offered this encouragement.
▪ She left the riding stables and went on the dole.
▪ They own a pony at the riding stables.
▪ He owns some horses at the riding stable too.
▪ My Auntie runs the riding stables with her work partner. has a pony on loan.
▪ That's what your guide captain said to me once - or was it Mrs Tyson at the riding stables?
■ NOUN
livery
▪ We went next door to the livery stable and woke up the owner, who was sleeping on the porch.
▪ I reined in the horse, turned around, and went back to the livery stable.
▪ The room was still dark, and behind me, the livery stable was quiet.
▪ I heard the men shouting in the livery stable.
▪ Frank, I thought, must be taking his bath in the livery stable.
▪ The metal trim on the livery stable was gleaming like molten brass.
▪ But I went to the livery stable and asked Mr Emmett if I could hire a horse for four or five hours.
■ VERB
build
▪ On 26 April 1792 it was agreed that Messrs Howell and Russell should build the stables for £2,850.
keep
▪ In these circumstances licence conditions, a grid code and other technical rules may not suffice to keep the system stable.
▪ From the collapse of Soviet command-style economies, we know that open information keeps an economy stable and growing.
▪ Indeed, for a while, Odette managed to keep her weight stable.
▪ Larger-than-expected spending cuts are being imposed to keep the franc stable.
▪ Twenty horses he kept at stables on the Lartington Hall estate were taken away overnight.
▪ That is enough to dock 6p off the basic rate of income tax and still keep the public-debt ratio stable.
ride
▪ They rode out from the stables in comparative silence, the groom a little way behind as befitted his position.
▪ They sell to private individuals, families and riding stables, he said.
▪ He had taken the opportunity of riding for a big stable with both hands and notched his first Group race victory.
▪ Quinta do Lago's 1,700 acres include golf courses, tennis courts, riding stables, water sports and strictly-controlled development.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Ohio's football team has a talented stable of freshmen.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A dazzling beam of light fell through the windows that looked out to the stables.
▪ A little girl playing the part of Mary was asked by the teacher to imagine how Mary would be feeling in the stables.
▪ Kay Wimhurst, defending, said Zipfel had no full-time job but earned £15 helping out at stables.
▪ Old farm cart sheds, cleanly converted, do make good stables.
▪ Such horses that are locked up in stables without sensory stimulation for a long period will become permanently more anxious and fearful.
▪ The visit to the stables is just a bonus.
▪ There are two nearby stables for guests interested in trail rides.
▪ When, at last, the ground closed over her, he led Gracie back to the stables.
III.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
horse
▪ He stabled his horse at the rear, and pushed open the inn door.
▪ He came back, stabled the horse and came in to break fast with us.
horses
▪ His father, a builder and carrier, was one of the first carters to stable his horses in favour of steam traction lorries.
▪ They stabled their horses round the back and bedded amongst dry hay with their cloaks wrapped round them.
▪ They stabled their horses and pushed their way through the noisy, colourful streets.
▪ They stabled their horses and hired a wherry at the Wool Quay.
▪ They stabled their horses and did not enter the tavern but passed into a pleasant garden beyond.
▪ They stabled their horses at the ferrymaster's house, paying for their fodder and keep until they returned.
▪ After stabling our horses, my master muttered that he had business to attend to and wandered off to his chamber.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A farm-worker who lived in the house would stable him and give him water and a handful of hay.
▪ Corbett reckoned horses had been stabled there within the last two or three months.
▪ I don't want them stabling their mounts here, it'd be too conspicuous.
▪ In the beginning they stabled them at Bakehouse Farm, on the A5.
▪ Isn't it true that some one tried to burn down the barn your Sparrowgrass was stabled in a month ago?
▪ They stabled their horses round the back and bedded amongst dry hay with their cloaks wrapped round them.
Related phrases:
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Stable

Stable \Sta"ble\, v. i. To dwell or lodge in a stable; to dwell in an inclosed place; to kennel.
--Milton.

Stable

Stable \Sta"ble\ (st[=a]"b'l), a. [OF. estable, F. stable, fr. L. stabilis, fr. stare to stand. See Stand, v. i. 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.

    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.

Stable

Stable \Sta"ble\, v. t. To fix; to establish. [Obs.]
--Chaucer.

Stable

Stable \Sta"ble\, n. [OF. estable, F. ['e]table, from L. stabulum, fr. stare to stand. See Stand, v. i.] 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.

Stable

Stable \Sta"ble\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stabled (-b'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Stabling (-bl[i^]ng).] To put or keep in a stable.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
stable

early 13c., "building or enclosure where horses or cows are kept, building for domestic animals," from Old French stable, estable "a stable, stall" (Modern French étable), also applied to cowsheds and pigsties, from Latin stabulum "a stall, fold, aviary, beehive, lowly cottage, brothel, etc.," literally "a standing place," from PIE *ste-dhlo-, suffixed form of root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).\n

\nMeaning "collection of horses belonging to one stable" is attested from 1570s; transferred sense of "group of fighters under same management" is from 1897; that of "group of prostitutes working for the same employer" is from 1937.\nFor what the grete Stiede\n
Is stole, thanne he taketh hiede,\n
And makth the stable dore fast.\n
[John Gower, "Confessio Amantis," 1390]

stable

mid-12c., "trustworthy, reliable;" mid-13c., "constant, steadfast; virtuous;" from Old French stable, estable "constant, steadfast, unchanging," from Latin stabilis "firm, steadfast, stable, fixed," figuratively "durable, unwavering," literally "able to stand," from PIE *ste-dhli-, from root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). From c.1300 as "well-founded, well-established, secure" (of governments, etc.). Physical sense of "secure against falling" is recorded from late 14c.; also "of even temperament." Of nuclear isotopes, from 1904.

stable

"to put in a certain place or position," c.1300; "to put (a horse) in a stable," early 14c., from stable (n.) or from Old French establer. Related: Stabled; stabling.

Wiktionary
stable

Etymology 1 n. A building, wing or dependency set apart and adapted for lodging and feeding (and training) animals with hoofs, especially horses. vb. 1 (context transitive English) to put or keep (horse) in a stable. 2 (context rail transport transitive English) to park (a rail vehicle) Etymology 2

  1. Relatively unchanging, permanent; firmly fixed or established; consistent; not easily moved, altered, or destroyed.

Related phrases:
WordNet
stable

n. a farm building for housing horses or other livestock [syn: stalls, horse barn]

stable

v. shelter in a stable; "stable horses"

stable

  1. adj. 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]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Stable

A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals. There are many different types of stables in use today; the American-style barn, for instance, is a large barn with a door at each end and individual stalls inside or free-standing stables with top and bottom-opening doors. The term "stable" is also used to describe a group of animals kept by one owner, regardless of housing or location.

The exterior design of a stable can vary widely, based on climate, building materials, historical period and cultural styles of architecture. A wide range of building materials can be used, including masonry (bricks or stone), wood and steel. Stables can range widely in size, from a small building housing one or two animals to facilities at agricultural shows or race tracks that can house hundreds of animals.

Stable (disambiguation)

A stable is a building in which livestock are kept. As an adjective, it means unchanging, permanent, firmly fixed or established (see Stability).

Stable or stables may also refer to:

  • Stables (surname), people with the surname
  • Stable (music), a group of musicians who work under the same agency, management, publisher or record company. See: roster.
  • Stable (wrestling), a group of wrestlers within a promotion who have a common element in professional wrestling.
    • Heya (sumo), an organization of sumo wrestlers, along with their physical living quarters, commonly translated as "stable"
  • The Stables, a music venue
Related phrases:

Usage examples of "stable".

Everett were just stepping out of the stables when they spied Abigail and Moira strolling toward them, talking and laughing.

By mixing with milk of lime, the acidity is neutralised, zinc oxide and calcium sulphite are thrown down, and a solution of neutral sodium hydrosulphite is obtained which is more stable and can be kept longer without decomposition.

Azareel went inside to purchase rooms while Acies led the horses to the stable.

He would face everything that protected the House whether he attempted the adamantine doors or the lizard stable wall.

The yard Goldplated was stabled in was very spacious, used to agist stallions during the off season.

I wonder if you would be so kind as to stroll with me to the royal stables now, while all is quiet there, and perhaps advise me on what might ail him?

Still dubious, Alec followed her to the stables behind the main building where a groom saddled a spirited horse for him.

Lynn Flewelling I Horses nickered expectantly as Alec and Beka entered the stable.

When an airplane encounters some, it slows down and air traffic controllers try to assign it an altitude where the air might be more stable.

Wearing her arms inspectorate hat, she was all too familiar with the effects of americium bombs: nuclear weapons made with an isotope denser and more fissile than plutonium, more stable than californium.

They left their horses at the livery stable behind the saloon, and Charlie walked Angelina to the store.

Rosemage moved across the stable yard, Aris thought, like one of the graceful horses.

The isotope of astatine had a half-life of eight hours-yet, impossibly, it was stable.

Well, one of the horses which was probably given colic through atropine was stabled in box number six.

Hence, he had no need to turn and watch Steven escort the last missing member of unique bayou banditry into the stable.