The meaning of STALE is tasteless or unpalatable from age : no longer fresh. How to use stale in a sentence.

STALE definition: not fresh; vapid or flat, as beverages; dry or hardened, as bread. See examples of stale used in a sentence.

STALE definition: 1. no longer new or fresh, usually as a result of being kept for too long: 2. not fresh and new…. Learn more.

Define stale. stale synonyms, stale pronunciation, stale translation, English dictionary definition of stale. adj. stal·er , stal·est 1. Having lost freshness, effervescence, or palatability: stale bread; stale air.

having lost freshness, vigor, quick intelligence, initiative, or the like, as from overstrain, boredom, or surfeit: He had grown stale on the job and needed a long vacation.

Definition of stale adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Dec 14, 2025 · stale (comparative staler, superlative stalest) (alcoholic beverages, obsolete) Clear, free of dregs and lees; old and strong.

If you say that a place, an activity, or an idea is stale, you mean that it has become boring because it is always the same.

• Sometimes scarred tissue feels tough, its resilience like a stale marshmallow. • All we hear around here is stale, old gossip. • Nicholson's routine was full of stale old jokes that we'd all heard before. • …

There are 12 meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective stale, four of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.