stalling someone

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiominformal

   Deliberately making someone wait or giving them evasive answers so that you avoid doing what they ask.

   Grammar: Takes a direct object: you stall someone, not 'stall to someone'. Often used in the passive: I was stalled by the manager.

   Patterns

   • stall someone
   • be stalling someone
   • stall someone on something

   The receptionist kept stalling me, saying the manager was busy, but I could see him through the glass door.

   Stop stalling me and tell me whether I got the job or not.

   They stalled us for weeks with promises of a new contract, then offered nothing.

2. 2phraseidiom

   Making someone late or preventing them from making progress, often by accident or because of a problem.

   Grammar: Used with a person as the object; the subject is usually a thing or situation, not the person who is delayed.

   Patterns

   • stall someone
   • something stalls someone

   Heavy traffic stalled us for over an hour, so we missed the opening speeches.

   A computer error stalled thousands of passengers at the airport yesterday.

   The injury stalled her career for two seasons.

Common combinations

keep stalling someone

The company kept stalling her with vague replies until she threatened to go to a lawyer.

stall someone for time

He was stalling us for time while his colleagues hid the documents.

stall someone with excuses

Don't stall me with excuses; just give me a straight answer.

stall someone on a decision

The committee stalled us on the decision for three months.

be stalled by someone

We were stalled by the security guard until the director arrived.

stop stalling

Stop stalling and tell me what really happened.

Synonyms and how they differ

delay someone

More neutral and formal; it can suggest an accidental cause, while 'stall someone' often suggests a deliberate trick.

put someone off

Focuses on postponing a meeting or decision rather than on making the person wait in the moment.

string someone along

Stronger and more disapproving; it means deceiving someone over a long period, not just making them wait briefly.

hold someone up

Usually means causing an accidental delay, not avoiding a request on purpose.

Opposites

Word family

stall verb

To delay or avoid doing something, often by giving excuses.

stalling noun

The act of delaying or avoiding a decision.

Commonly confused: stalling someone or stalking someone? stalling someone or installing something?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “stalling someone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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