stalling 1 of 2

adjective

1
as in blocking

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2
as in procrastinating

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stalling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of stall
1
as in halting
to bring (something) to a standstill endless complaints stalled the process of selecting the winning design for the memorial

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2
as in dying
to stop functioning the engine stalls sometimes when it's very cold outside

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stalling
Adjective
The tense talks continued into a second day but concluded without progress, in a diplomatic effort that seemed little more than another stalling game for Putin. — Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2026 Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows promised swift action and vowed to brook no more stalling tactics from Democrats. — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
Their replacements arrived three weeks late because of capsule repairs, stalling this crew’s homecoming. — Marcia Dunn, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026 The memoir also details Cooper’s crippling, career-stalling struggles with substance abuse during the late ‘70s and goes into depth about his subsequent re-embrace of Christianity and his current beliefs and practices. — Gary Graff, Billboard, 6 Oct. 2026 Tropical disturbance in the Gulf Coast Rain is expected to continue in central Florida, where a stalling frontal system is now draped. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 With broader crypto legislation stalling in Congress, regulators are exerting their existing powers to address individual parts of the market, said Jeff Ko, chief analyst at blockchain infrastructure service provider ViaBTC. — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026 The result is a more effective change with fewer rumors needing correction, fewer objections stalling adoption and fewer managers left to improvise for their teams. — John Radman, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026 Similar legislation failed to pass in 2023 after stalling in a committee hearing and in 2018 after pushback from the American Civil Liberties Union. — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 30 Sep. 2026 The first round could arrive as early as tomorrow night for places along I-80, with the line of showers stalling out along I-80. — Ron Smiley, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 Several of those penalties came at crucial moments, repeatedly stalling drives and preventing FIU from putting points on the board. — Alejandro Hernandez, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stalling
  1. blocking
  2. decelerating
  3. halting
  4. dying
  5. slowing
  6. stopping
  7. crashing
  8. catching
Adjective
  • The winner was the player who avoided being blocked the longest — a blocking game, a category of strategy game where the objective centers on restricting your opponent’s movement.
    — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 19 Feb. 2026
Definition of blocking
Adjective
  • The stock has declined nearly 28% in 2026, largely due to concerns over the social media platform’s decelerating year-over-year traffic growth and its sensitivity to macroeconomic conditions.
    — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026
Definition of decelerating
Verb
  • Marshall has consistently voted against Senate War Powers Resolutions aimed at halting or restricting military operations in Iran.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The scale of the decline triggered a circuit breaker, temporarily halting trading on the exchange — a frequent occurrence this year in a stock market dominated by just two stocks.
    — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of halting
Verb
  • Proponents say these are projects California communities are dying to build, hampered by cost increases and delays from CEQA litigation.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • In 2020, Fauci, newly famous as the COVID pandemic’s explainer-in-chief, called Kramer, who was dying.
    — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of dying
Adjective
  • And, through it all, stocks have continued to steadily rise, buoyed by hopes for Fed rate cuts, stronger-than-expected corporate earnings and slowing but stubborn confidence that an AI boom might reap big rewards for investors.
    — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
Definition of slowing
Verb
  • But Hurts threw incomplete on first down, wasting only four seconds and stopping the clock.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The crackdown extended beyond the protest venue, with police stopping buses, cars and other vehicles at checkpoints on routes into the capital and searching for demonstrators.
    — Sheikh Saaliq, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of stopping
Verb
  • The co-pilot is alleged to have stabbed the plane’s captain and taken over the flight controls with the intention of crashing it into Ben-Gurion airport.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
  • An assistant football coach at the University of Connecticut allegedly ordered nine drinks and two ½ bottles of wine before crashing into a tree in Tolland over the summer and leaving the scene, court papers said.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of crashing
Verb
  • That play was Santa Margarita royalty at its best — a Mosley catching a touchdown pass from a Palmer, the son of the head coach.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Smith also had an uncharacteristic day, catching only four passes for 68 yards.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of catching

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Cite this Entry

“Stalling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stalling. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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