stag

[ stag ]

noun

1. an adult male deer.
2. a man who attends a social gathering unaccompanied by a woman.
3. Informal. stag party.
4. a domesticated boar or bull castrated after maturation of the sexual organs.
5. 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.

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
3. stock exchange
   1. 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
   2. ( as modifier )

      stag operations

4. modifier (of a social gathering) attended by men only
5. modifier pornographic in content

   a stag show

adverb

1. without a female escort

verb

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

Other Words From

• staglike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stag¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of stag¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with stag , also see go stag .

Example Sentences

It’s hard to drag your thoughts away from Mahomes’s pure physicality, the strange combination of brawn and lithe movement, the supple slinging throws, the dodging stag legs.

From Washington Post

And there happens to be a rock with stag on top of it as a monument right outside of town.

From The Daily Beast

When "Paula" stalled at Stag, Salinger must have been relieved.

From The Daily Beast

Salinger retooled it, retitled it "Paula," and sold it to Stag, a middlebrow publication for men.

From The Daily Beast

“President Zal ul-Haq refused me entry to his entourage, saying it was a stag party,” Mustafa told the audience.

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From Project Gutenberg

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.

From Project Gutenberg

I looked up and there was a stag whose nostrils were quivering with excitement as if he scented the music.

From Project Gutenberg

I thought I saw weasels way below, and in the distance I felt the stag disturbing the leaves of small plants.

From Project Gutenberg

It was an untried leap to the farmer, who nevertheless went at it like a thunderbolt and cleared it like a stag.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• discover
• examine
• scrutinize
• snoop