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Glite Dictionary
⏳ Delaying tactics 💻 Processor delay
stalling

stalling

1 7.2
A short pause in a computer processor that stops later commands from running
  • noun
  • /ˈstɔːlɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : parada
  • The Used signal, U, is needed for cases where two or more sources (states) must pass through a priority selection and only one can be chosen, the other stalling.

Examples

  • Let's see, it tells you for example, total cycle count stalls for various reasons.

  • While spending a large portion of my career in the personal computer business, this stalling would occur again and again.

    Blog text (31)

  • The stalling of the processor's instructions during high data demand can significantly impact performance.

  • The stalling can occur in a CPU pipeline when there are resource conflicts that delay further instruction execution.

  • Frequent stalling in systems due to cache misses can lead to slower overall processing speeds.

Synonyms

standstill
vsstalling
35 3.5

A time when movement or activity stops completely

is a temporary pause in instruction flow caused by hazards or conflicts
holdup
vsstalling
  • US
20 3.8

A delay that stops something from moving forward

is a short technical suspension inside a processor pipeline
stopper
vsstalling
9 5.3

Something that suddenly stops an activity or makes people silent

is a process suspension inside a CPU rather than a physical object

Antonyms

continuation
56 3.6

An act of something keeping going without stopping

execution
  • Specialized
15 5.1

A computer carrying out program instructions

How Severe

deadlock
  • Specialized
1 6.6
stalling
  • Specialized
1 7.2

Surface Forms

stalling singular
stallings plural

Morphology

stalling = stall (semi-transparent) = stall + ing

Formally derived from 'stall' + '-ing', but the sense is a technical CPU/process meaning ('temporary suspension in a pipeline') that goes beyond the everyday sense of 'delay'.

Etymology

Stalling in computers is like a car engine stall — when the engine 'stops' for a moment and cannot run. So computer stalling means the processor must stop work for a short time, which delays the instructions that come after.