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Glite Dictionary
to stay in place

to stay in place

10 1.5
Not move from a place
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : quedarse en su sitio
  • During the drill, all employees must stay in place until instructed otherwise.

You lift a hand and watch it stay in place.

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Examples

  • The dog was trained to stay in place while his owner walked away.

  • We tell ourselves that, in today's economy, we must run ever faster to stay in place.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Dogs must be taught to stay in place.

    Genghis Khan (1965)

  • Then my hands stay in place and my eyes stay in place, but my mind starts moving.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Will they stay in place to take care of the students?

    Academic text (2008)

  • Now my body had to stay in place.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Either you stay in place or you have an equal probability of going left or right.

  • This agreement stayed in place for centuries.

    The Crossbreed (2018)

  • They say that these will stay in place no matter what.

  • The health of the gums is what allows the teeth to stay in place, to stay strong.

    Blog text (11)

Synonyms

to remain
vsto stay in place
∞ 1.0

To stay in the same place or state and not change

is limited to physical location rather than state or condition
to stick
vsto stay in place
∞ 3.5

To stay loyal to someone or a group

focuses narrowly on not moving from one physical position
to stick around
vsto stay in place
  • Informal
332 2.9

Stay in a place to wait for something

simply describes not moving from a position without waiting implication
to linger
vsto stay in place
207 3.7

To stay in a place longer than expected because you do not want to leave

describes simple lack of movement without implying extra duration or reluctance
to stay put
vsto stay in place
  • Informal
133 2.0

Remain in the same place without moving

is the same meaning expressed with a different phrase
to persist
vsto stay in place
  • Formal
18 5.2

To stay in a place for a long time

is about not moving at any time rather than long duration
to hold steady
vsto stay in place
17 2.9

Keep something or someone in place and still

describes being motionless without implying active holding or support
to stick about
vsto stay in place
  • UK
4.1

Stay nearby or wait in a place for a short time

covers any length of unmoving presence, not just short availability

Antonyms

to leave
∞ 1.0

To go away from a place, person, or group

to move
∞ 1.0

Change position or place

to travel
∞ 1.0

To go from one place to another, often for work or pleasure

How Still

to stay in place
10 1.5
to stand
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

stay in place infinitive
stayed in place past
stayed in place past participle
staying in place present participle
stays in place third person singular

Morphology

stay + in + place

The meaning 'to remain stationary' is directly and transparently derived from 'stay' (to remain) combined with the locative prepositional phrase 'in place' (in a particular location). This is a standard compositional locative construction found across languages and English grammar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

The phrase stay in place comes from a simple picture: something that must stay and not move in a particular place, like a heavy stone holding down a tent. So, when you say stay in place, you mean 'not move' or 'stay where it is'.