Stalls

Stalls is the plural form of stall, a term with several distinct meanings used in markets, venues, stables, aviation, and everyday language.

In markets and fairs, a stall is a small, usually temporary shop or booth where goods or services are sold. Stalls are typically arranged in rows within a market hall or along a street, and vendors may offer food, crafts, clothing, or other merchandise. The term also covers fixed concessions in larger venues such as shopping malls or trade shows.

In theatres and concert venues, the stalls refer to the front, usually ground-floor seating area closest to the stage. This section is often distinguished from upper levels such as the dress circle or balconies and may be divided into subsections or boxes in larger houses.

In animal husbandry, a stall is a partitioned enclosure inside a stable designed for a single animal, commonly a horse. Stalls provide a defined space for feeding, resting, and confinement, and they may include a manger, trough, water supply, and ventilation.

In aviation and physics, a stall denotes a aerodynamically dangerous condition where an aircraft’s angle of attack exceeds a critical value, causing a rapid loss of lift. Recovery involves reducing the angle of attack and restoring airflow over the wings.

As a verb, stall means to delay or obstruct progress, or to cause an engine or mechanism to stop temporarily. Examples include stalling a negotiation or stalling an engine by misfiring or running out of fuel.