third-person singular verb
She, he, or it remains in a place instead of leaving.
She stays here after work.
The dog stays inside during the storm.
American English
How to pronounce stays
verb · nounA2Very common word
STAYZ
/steɪz/
One syllable.
Form of stay
Stays can be the third-person singular of the verb stay or the plural of the noun stay.
She, he, or it remains in a place instead of leaving.
Practice out loudMeanings & examples
third-person singular verb
She, he, or it lives or sleeps somewhere for a short time.
Maria stays at a hotel near the airport.
He stays with his aunt on weekends.
third-person singular verb
She, he, or it continues to be in the same condition.
The soup stays warm for hours.
She stays calm in difficult situations.
plural noun
Periods when people live or sleep somewhere temporarily.
Their stays in Boston are usually short.
The hotel offers longer stays in winter.
Useful expressions
to remain awake and not go to bed
I stayed up to finish the report.
to remain away from home, especially at night
We stayed out until midnight.
to remain at home instead of going out
Let's stay in and watch a movie.
Related words & forms
In stayed, y changes to i before -ed.