STOPPAGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does stoppage mean? 

• STOPPAGE (noun)
  The noun STOPPAGE has 3 senses:

1. the state of inactivity following an interruption

2. an obstruction in a pipe or tube

3. the act of stopping something

  Familiarity information: STOPPAGE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STOPPAGE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of inactivity following an interruption

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

arrest; check; halt; hitch; stay; stop; stoppage

Context example:

he spent the entire stop in his seat

Hypernyms ("stoppage" is a kind of...):

inaction; inactiveness; inactivity (the state of being inactive)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stoppage"):

countercheck (a check that restrains another check)

logjam (any stoppage attributable to unusual activity)

Derivation:

stop (stop and wait, as if awaiting further instructions or developments)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An obstruction in a pipe or tube

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

block; blockage; closure; occlusion; stop; stoppage

Context example:

we had to call a plumber to clear out the blockage in the drainpipe

Hypernyms ("stoppage" is a kind of...):

impediment; impedimenta; obstructer; obstruction; obstructor (any structure that makes progress difficult)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stoppage"):

breech closer; breechblock (a metal block in breech-loading firearms that is withdrawn to insert a cartridge and replaced to close the breech before firing)

plug; stopper; stopple (blockage consisting of an object designed to fill a hole tightly)

vapor lock; vapour lock (a stoppage in a pipeline caused by gas bubbles (especially a stoppage that develops in hot weather in an internal-combustion engine when fuel in the gas line boils and forms bubbles that block the flow of gasoline to the carburetor))

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of stopping something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

stop; stoppage

Context example:

his stoppage of the flow resulted in a flood

Hypernyms ("stoppage" is a kind of...):

act; deed; human action; human activity (something that people do or cause to happen)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stoppage"):

stand-down; standdown ((military) a temporary stop of offensive military action)

haemostasia; haemostasis; hemostasia; hemostasis (surgical procedure of stopping the flow of blood (as with a hemostat))

Derivation:

stop (cause to stop)

stop (put an end to a state or an activity)

 Context examples 

Then we walked home with some, or rather many, stoppages to rest, and with our hearts full of a constant dread of wild bulls.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

A syndrome that is defined by signs and symptoms related to abrupt or gradual stoppage of opioids use.

(Opiate Withdrawal Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

Sometimes, in the traces, when jerked by a sudden stoppage of the sled, or by straining to start it, he would cry out with pain.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

I resorted to Traddles for advice; who suggested that he should dictate speeches to me, at a pace, and with occasional stoppages, adapted to my weakness.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The act of closure or the state of being closed; an obstruction; the relationship between all of the components of the masticatory system in normal function, dysfunction, and parafunction; momentary complete closure of some area in the vocal tract, causing stoppage of the breath and accumulation of pressure.

(Occlusion, Food and Drug Administration)

The men rode and ran by turn, and the dogs were kept on the jump, with but infrequent stoppages.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

There I saw him, lying on his back, with his legs extending to I don't know where, gurglings taking place in his throat, stoppages in his nose, and his mouth open like a post-office.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The preparations she made for this great work, the aprons she put on, the bibs she borrowed from the kitchen to keep off the ink, the time she took, the innumerable stoppages she made to have a laugh with Jip as if he understood it all, her conviction that her work was incomplete unless she signed her name at the end, and the way in which she would bring it to me, like a school-copy, and then, when I praised it, clasp me round the neck, are touching recollections to me, simple as they might appear to other men.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)