unstop

[ uhn-stop ]

verb (used with object)

, un·stopped, un·stop·ping.

1. to remove the stopper from:

   to unstop a bottle.

2. to free from any obstruction; open:

   to unstop a sewer.

3. to draw out the stops of (an organ).

unstop

/ ʌnˈstɒp /

verb

1. to remove the stop or stopper from
2. to free from any stoppage or obstruction; open
3. to draw out the stops on (an organ)

Word History and Origins

Origin of unstop¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, unstop is from the Middle English word unstoppen. See un- ², stop

Example Sentences

Will we unstop our ears and learn from the mistakes of the past?

From Los Angeles Times

“Touch that cat again,” she shouted, “and I will unstop this bottle of rat’s blood and viper’s flesh and summon the Devil, who will change you into women, and henceforth each of you will giggle like a woman and wear dresses like a woman and give birth like a woman!”

From Literature

Her confession seemed to unstop a dam: there has been a tidal wave of books since by women who have given up drink, confessing to their alcoholism.

From The Guardian

Something to unbreak the twenty-two bones in her body including the seven in her neck, uncollapse her lungs, unstop her heart, and unhemorrhage her brilliant brain.

From Literature

In another, a nurse used a plunger to unstop a toilet and then held a patient’s hand during a surgical procedure without changing scrubs, according to the report.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• expand
• free
• release