stag

[ stag ]
See synonyms for: stagstaggedstaggingstags on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. an adult male deer.

  2. a man who attends a social gathering unaccompanied by a woman.

  1. Informal. stag party.

  2. a domesticated boar or bull castrated after maturation of the sexual organs.

  3. British. a speculator who buys securities of a new issue in the hope of selling them quickly at a higher price.

verb (used without object),stagged, stag·ging.
  1. Informal. (of a man) to attend a social function without a female companion.

adjective
  1. of or for men only: a stag dinner.

  2. intended for male audiences and usually pornographic in content: a stag show.

adverb
  1. without a companion or date: to go stag to a dance.

Origin of stag

1
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English stagge; akin to Old Norse steggi, steggr “male bird” (giving rise to northern English dialect steg “gander”), Icelandic steggur “male fox, tomcat”

Other words from stag

  • staglike, adjective

Words Nearby stag

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use stag in a sentence

  • According to Eade, in his youth Philip was a member of a lunch club that enjoyed “rip-roaring stag parties” every Thursday.

  • Sometimes when the children were playing in the snow, they found the antlers of a full-grown stag.

    The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth Dopp
  • I did not realize it until that early morning when I heard the moving feet, as one hears dogs on the hurrying heels of a stag.

    Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji
  • I looked up and there was a stag whose nostrils were quivering with excitement as if he scented the music.

    Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji
  • I thought I saw weasels way below, and in the distance I felt the stag disturbing the leaves of small plants.

    Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji
  • It was an untried leap to the farmer, who nevertheless went at it like a thunderbolt and cleared it like a stag.

    Hunted and Harried | R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for stag

stag

/ (stæɡ) /


noun
  1. the adult male of a deer, esp a red deer

  2. a man unaccompanied by a woman at a social gathering

  1. stock exchange, British

    • a speculator who applies for shares in a new issue in anticipation of a rise in price when trading commences in order to make a quick profit on resale

    • (as modifier): stag operations

  2. (modifier) (of a social gathering) attended by men only

  3. (modifier) pornographic in content: a stag show

adverb
  1. without a female escort

verb(tr)
  1. stock exchange to apply for (shares in a new issue) with the intention of selling them for a quick profit when trading commences

Origin of stag

1
Old English stagga (unattested); related to Old Norse steggr male bird

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with stag

stag

In addition to the idiom beginning with stag

  • stage fright
  • stage whisper
  • stag party

also see:

  • go stag

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.