stale

adjective
UK: /steɪl/
US: /steɪl/

  1. No longer fresh or pleasant to eat; usually describes food.

    1. This bread is stale; I can't eat it anymore.
    2. The crackers were stale because the package had been left open for a week.

  2. Not new or original; boring because of having been used too much.

    1. The jokes were stale.
    2. The band's music has become stale; they need to try something different.

Synonyms

dry old flat banal hackneyed musty
stale intransitive-verb

  1. To become stale or not fresh.

    1. The bread staled quickly.
    2. The leftover pizza started to stale overnight, so I threw it away.
stale transitive-verb

  1. To make something stale.

    1. Don't stale the cake.
    2. Leaving the bread out will stale it quickly, making it hard and dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "stale" in English means: No longer fresh or pleasant to eat; usually describes food., Not new or original; boring because of having been used too much..

The phonetic transcription of "stale" is /steɪl/ in British English and /steɪl/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "stale": dry, old, flat, banal, hackneyed, musty.

Example usage of "stale": "This bread is stale; I can't eat it anymore.". More examples on the page.