(a) To obstruct (a street, lane, passage, an entrance, etc.) with a physical barrier, block; close (a port), prevent access to; blockade (the sea), close to traffic; block (someone's way); also fig.; also, close (a road) by prohibiting passage; also, with ind.obj.: bar (the way to sb.), block (sb. from the way); ~ in (oute, up); (b) to block (a stream, channel, watercourse, etc.), dam up; prevent (water, filth) from flowing or finding an outlet, obstruct the flow of; -- also without obj.; hold back (the sea); (c) to block out (light); keep (wind from sth.); (d) to close (a gate, floodgate); also fig.; (e) fig. to hold back (tears), restrain.

Med. & physiol. (a) To close the pores, restrain matter from rising to the surface of the body; ppl. stoppinge, of a medicine: having the power to close the pores, having the power to restrain matter from rising to the surface of the body; (b) to obstruct (a duct, nerve, bodily organ, etc.), stop up (pores); also, obstruct the nerves of (a limb); (c) ben stopped, to be afflicted with an obstruction or an obstructed condition; be congested; have an obstructed womb, be unable to deliver a child [quots. a1450 & last]; also, be choked [1st quot.]; ppl. stopped, of the head: congested; (d) to cause constipation; constipate (a hawk, the intestines, belly); ppl. stoppinge, costive, inducing constipation.

(a) To stop (an ear, the ears), plug; cover (the ears) in order to avoid hearing; also fig.; of a morbid growth: obstruct (the ear); (b) to cover (someone's mouth); stop up (the mouths of lions) to keep them from devouring prey; fig. stop up (one's own or someone else's mouth), silence (sb.); plug (someone's mouth with silver or a reward), bribe (sb.) to keep silent; ~ mouth of mani thinges, stop up (someone's) mouth to keep him from saying many things; (c) to hold (the nose) in order to avoid smelling; plug (the nose, nostrils); also, of the nose: ?be obstructed [last quot.]; (d) to obstruct (someone's vision), blind (someone's eyes); also fig.

(a) To cut off (someone's breath), obstruct (the vital breath), suffocate (sb.); also, of the breath: be cut off, cease; (b) to stop the bleeding of (a wound, vein, etc.); stanch (the flow of blood, bleeding); stop up (a surgical opening, wound, wormhole in a hawk's body); ben stopped, of a fistula: be kept from exuding pus; of a hole in a tooth: be stopped up; of a wound: be clogged (with pus); also, fig. be closed, be healed [quot. a1382].

(a) To fill in (a hole in a wall, crack in a ship's hull, etc.), plug up; block up (a doorway, gate, etc.) by filling it in or covering it over; also fig. [quot. a1450, 1st]; block off (a window), obstruct so as to cut off light or a view; fig. clog (the understanding) [quot. c1460, 2nd occurrence]; ~ up; ben stopped ful of, fig. be filled full of (sth.); (b) to fill in or close the mouth of (a pit, well, etc.), block up (a cave); to close up the gaps in (a wall); (c) to fill in (a gap in a phalanx).

(a) To fill (a bolster, sack, dummy, etc.) full of some material, stuff, pack; cram (a receptacle full of sth.); load (a gun or cannon with sth.); (b) cook. to fill (the cavity of a fish or fowl) with herbs, fruit, etc. preparatory to cooking, stuff; also, fill (a cored quince) with sugar or spices; ppl. stopped as adj.: stuffed.

(a) To shut (sb. or sth. inside sth.), put; confine (sb. in sth.); enclose (sb. or sth.); ~ in breth, hold in (one's) breath; ~ up, shut (sb.) up in a coffin or tomb; ppl. stopped, shut up; stopped in, enclosed, confined; (b) to thrust (sth. into sth. else), stuff; (c) fig. ~ oute, to keep (sth.) out; ~ oute of, shut (sth.) out of (sth.), keep from; (d) ben stopped, to be incorporated, be contained.

(a) To cover tightly or seal (a vessel); seal (the mouth or opening of a vessel), close with a stopper; seal (a hole in the bottom of a vessel, the opening of a hollowed-out coal, vine, or hollow rod); ppl. stopped, sealed; wel stopped; (b) to seal (sth.) up in a vessel; ?also, error for stepen v. [1st quot.]; stopped up, sealed up in a container; wel stopped, in a well-sealed container.

(a) To cease moving or going; cause (sb.) to stop advancing or traveling, bring to a halt; stop (an animal) from moving; ppl. stoppinge as noun, in phrase: stoppinge in age, old age; -- ?error for stoupinge, ppl. of stoupen v. 2.(a) [cp. steppen v. 3.(d)]; (b) ~ tonge(s, fig. to cause (a tongue, tongues) to stop wagging, silence (sb.).

(a) To put a stop to (sth., a practice, behavior), make an end of, cause to cease; ~ from, stop (a part of the body) from (doing sth.); ~ smellinge of nose, stop the nose's smelling, keep (one's) nose from the act of smelling; (b) to cause (sb.) to desist in an argument or a discussion; (c) to extinguish (a fire), get rid of (fiery breath); (d) to prevent (conception).

To block legal action [quot. c1475]; obstruct (a policy), hinder; thwart (pride, righteousness, etc.); with inf.: hinder (sb. from doing sth.).

?To reduce (a debt, a fine); ~ in, ?make a reduction in (a debt, a required payment).