Word · Frequency #9963
stale
不新鲜的；变味的
No longer fresh, especially food that has become dry, hard, or unpleasant.
多指食物、气味等不再新鲜
- 1.
No longer fresh, in reference to food, urine, straw, wounds, etc.
不再新鲜,指食物、尿液、稻草、伤口等
- 2.
No longer fresh, new, or interesting, in reference to ideas and immaterial things; clichéd, hackneyed, dated.
不再新鲜、新颖或有趣,指想法和非物质事物；陈词滥调、老套、过时
- 3.
Not new or recent; having been in place or in effect for some time.
不是新的或最近的；已经存在或生效一段时间
- 4.
Unreasonably long in coming, in reference to claims and actions.
指索赔和行动,来得不合理地长
- 5.
Worn out, particularly due to age or over-exertion, in reference to athletes and animals in competition.
因年龄或过度劳累而疲惫,指运动员和比赛中的动物
- 6.
Out of date, unpaid for an unreasonable amount of time, particularly in reference to checks.
过期,未支付过长时间,特别指支票
- 7.
Of data: out of date; not synchronized with the newest copy.
指数据:过时；未与最新副本同步
陈腐的；老套的；过时的；旧的；已有一段时间的；拖延过久的；过期的；疲惫的；状态不佳的；过期的；逾期的
In use
I forgot to close the bag, and by the next morning the popcorn was stale.
The bread was too stale to use for sandwiches, so I made breadcrumbs instead.
This slice of cake is staler than the one I tried yesterday.
Connections
Collocations
- stale bread
- 不新鲜的面包
- I threw away the stale bread because nobody wanted to eat it.我把不新鲜的面包扔掉了，因为没人想吃。
- stale air
- 不新鲜的空气；浑浊的空气
- The room had a stale air smell after being closed all winter.整个冬天关着门，房间里有一股不新鲜的空气味。
- stale joke
- 老掉牙的笑话；陈腐的笑话
- He keeps telling the same stale jokes at every party.他在每次聚会上都讲同样的老掉牙笑话。
- stale data
- 过时的数据；陈旧的数据
- The report was based on stale data from five years ago.这份报告基于五年前的过时数据。
- stale check
- 过期支票；长期未兑现的支票
- The bank refused to cash the stale check because it was more than six months old.银行拒绝兑现这张过期支票，因为它已经开出六个多月了。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
把 stale 想成“s + tale”：一个讲了太多次的老故事(tale)毫无新意，正如不新鲜的食物，令人觉得陈腐乏味。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：food and drink、ideas and writing、news and data、legal and financial documents stale 的语域会随搭配变化：指食物、空气等时是日常中性词；指观点、笑话等时带负面评价；在法律或金融语境中（如 stale check/claim）偏正式、书面。因此没有唯一的语域选择，通常需根据具体搭配判断。
Grammar Note
常用于修饰食物不新鲜或空气污浊；可引申为陈旧的、厌倦的
Pronunciation & Spelling
Genuine rhymes with /steɪl/ include pale, sale, tale, male, and scale, all ending with the /eɪl/ sound. Beware the lookalike stall, which is pronounced /stɔːl/ and does not rhyme.
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.