To make something end or not continue, or to come to an end yourself.
From Old English “stoppian,” meaning to plug up or block. It first meant physically blocking a hole, then came to mean ending any kind of action.
Every ‘start’ secretly needs a ‘stop’—you can’t focus on anything if nothing ever ends. In phonetics, a ‘stop’ sound (like /p/ or /t/) literally blocks the airflow, so even your mouth practices stopping.
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