Stop vs. Quit: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 26, 2023
"Stop" implies ceasing an action temporarily or permanently, while "Quit" suggests leaving an activity or role, often permanently.
Key Differences
"Stop" often means to bring an activity to an end, either for a brief period or indefinitely. "Quit", on the other hand, implies a more definitive or permanent departure from an activity or role.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
"Stop" is used in contexts where the action might be resumed, like stopping at a traffic light. "Quit" is used when someone leaves a job or habit, typically not intending to return.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
"Stop" is neutral, indicating a pause or end. "Quit" sometimes carries a negative connotation, implying giving up or abandoning something.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
"Stop" can refer to both short-term and long-term cessation. "Quit" usually suggests a long-term or permanent cessation.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
"Stop" is more flexible, applicable in various scenarios. "Quit" is more specific, often related to ending a continuous or long-term engagement.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Connotation
Neutral; implies pausing or ending
Can imply giving up or leaving definitively
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Dec 26, 2023
Context of Use
General cessation of any activity
Leaving a role, habit, or job
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Dec 26, 2023
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Stop and Quit Definitions
Stop
To close (an opening or hole) by covering, filling in, or plugging up
The tea leaves stopped the drain.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To discontinue an action or practice
She decided to quit her piano lessons.
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Dec 26, 2023
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Quit
To depart from; leave
"You and I are on the point of quitting the theater of our exploits" (Horatio Nelson).
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To leave the company of
Had to quit the gathering in order to be home by midnight.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To be or get in the way of (a bullet or other missile); be killed or wounded by.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To cause to desist or to change a course of action
The rain stopped us from continuing the argument.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To prevent or restrain
An invitation to dinner stopped him from going to the movies.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
(Archaic) To conduct (oneself) in a specified way
Quit yourselves like adults.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To cease an action or cease working properly; stop
The car quit on the hill.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To abandon an activity out of frustration or despair; give up
Saw that he would never get the part and quit.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To press down (a string on a stringed instrument) on the fingerboard to produce a desired pitch.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
(usually followed by of) Released from obligation, penalty, etc; free, clear, or rid.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To close (a hole on a wind instrument) with the finger in sounding a desired pitch.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To cease moving, progressing, acting, or operating; come to a halt
The clock stopped in the night.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To put an end to what one is doing; cease
Had to stop at an exciting place in the book.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To interrupt one's course or journey for a brief visit or stay. Often used with by, in, or off
Stop by at a friend's house.
Stop in at the office.
Stop off at the gas station.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
The act of stopping or the condition of being stopped
Can't you put a stop to all this ruckus? Production is at a stop.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
(transitive) To set at rest; to free, as from anything harmful or oppressive; to relieve; to clear; to liberate.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A place at which someone or something stops
A regular stop on my delivery route.
A bus stop.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
(transitive) To release from obligation, accusation, penalty, etc.; to absolve; to acquit.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To resign from (a job, office, position, etc.).
After having to work overtime without being paid, I quit my job.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To stop, give up (an activity) (usually + gerund or verbal noun).
John is planning to quit smoking.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
Any of numerous species of small passerine birds native to tropical America.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
Any one of numerous species of small passerine birds native of tropical America. See Banana quit, under Banana, and Guitguit.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
Released from obligation, charge, penalty, etc.; free; clear; absolved; acquitted.
The owner of the ox shall be quit.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To set at rest; to free, as from anything harmful or oppressive; to relieve; to clear; to liberate.
To quit you of this fear, you have already looked Death in the face; what have you found so terrible in it?
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To release from obligation, accusation, penalty, or the like; to absolve; to acquit.
There may no gold them quyte.
God will relent, and quit thee all his debt.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To discharge, as an obligation or duty; to meet and satisfy, as a claim or debt; to make payment for or of; to requite; to repay.
The blissful martyr quyte you your meed.
Enkindle all the sparks of natureTo quit this horrid act.
Before that judge that quits each soul his hire.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To meet the claims upon, or expectations entertained of; to conduct; to acquit; - used reflexively.
Be strong, and quit yourselves like men.
Samson hath quit himselfLike Samson.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To carry through; to go through to the end.
Never worthy prince a day did quitWith greater hazard and with more renown.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(Linguistics) One of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To have done with; to cease from; to stop; hence, to depart from; to leave; to forsake; as, to quit work; to quit the place; to quit jesting.
Such a superficial way of examining is to quit truth for appearance.
Does not the earth quit scores with all the elements in the noble fruits that issue from it?
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
The depression between the muzzle and top of the skull of an animal, especially a dog.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
Give up or retire from a position;
The Secretary fo the Navy will leave office next month
The chairman resigned over the financial scandal
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(Architecture) A projecting stone, often carved, at the end of a molding.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A control mechanism on an audio or video player that causes a recording to stop playing.
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Oct 19, 2023
Quit
Give up in the face of defeat of lacking hope; admit defeat;
In the second round, the challenger gave up
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
Of, relating to, or being of use at the end of an operation or activity
A stop code.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Quit
To stop doing an activity, especially a habit
He quit smoking recently.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Stop
(intransitive) Not to continue.
The riots stopped when police moved in.
Soon the rain will stop.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(transitive) To cause (something) to cease moving or progressing.
The sight of the armed men stopped him in his tracks.
This guy is a fraudster. I need to stop the cheque I wrote him.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(transitive) To cease; to no longer continue (doing something).
One of the wrestlers suddenly stopped fighting.
Please stop telling me those terrible jokes.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(transitive) To cause (something) to come to an end.
The referees stopped the fight.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(transitive) To close or block an opening.
He stopped the wound with gauze.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To adjust the aperture of a camera lens.
To achieve maximum depth of field, he stopped down to an f-stop of 22.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(intransitive) To stay; to spend a short time; to reside or tarry temporarily.
To stop with a friend
He stopped for two weeks at the inn.
He stopped at his friend's house before continuing with his drive.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(music) To regulate the sounds of (musical strings, etc.) by pressing them against the fingerboard with the finger, or otherwise shortening the vibrating part.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To delay the purchase or sale of (a stock) while agreeing the price for later.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A (usually marked) place where buses, trams or trains halt to let passengers get on and off, usually smaller than a station.
Related terms: halt, station.
They agreed to meet at the bus stop.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
An action of stopping; interruption of travel.
That stop was not planned.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(engineering) A device, or piece, as a pin, block, pawl, etc., for arresting or limiting motion, or for determining the position to which another part shall be brought.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(architecture) A member, plain or moulded, formed of a separate piece and fixed to a jamb, against which a door or window shuts.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(linguistics) A consonant sound in which the passage of air through the mouth is temporarily blocked by the lips, tongue, or glottis.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A symbol used for purposes of punctuation and representing a pause or separating clauses, particularly a full stop, comma, colon or semicolon.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(music) A knob or pin used to regulate the flow of air in an organ.
The organ is loudest when all the stops are pulled.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(music) One of the vent-holes in a wind instrument, or the place on the wire of a stringed instrument, by the stopping or pressing of which certain notes are produced.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(tennis) A very short shot which touches the ground close behind the net and is intended to bounce as little as possible.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(zoology) The depression in a dog’s face between the skull and the nasal bones.
The stop in a bulldog's face is very marked.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(photography) A part of a photographic system that reduces the amount of light.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(photography) A unit of exposure corresponding to a doubling of the brightness of an image.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
The diaphragm used in optical instruments to cut off the marginal portions of a beam of light passing through lenses.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To close, as an aperture, by filling or by obstructing; as, to stop the ears; hence, to stanch, as a wound.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To obstruct; to render impassable; as, to stop a way, road, or passage.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To arrest the progress of; to hinder; to impede; to shut in; as, to stop a traveler; to stop the course of a stream, or a flow of blood.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To hinder from acting or moving; to prevent the effect or efficiency of; to cause to cease; to repress; to restrain; to suppress; to interrupt; to suspend; as, to stop the execution of a decree, the progress of vice, the approaches of old age or infirmity.
Whose disposition all the world well knowsWill not be rubbed nor stopped.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To regulate the sounds of, as musical strings, by pressing them against the finger board with the finger, or by shortening in any way the vibrating part.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To point, as a composition; to punctuate.
If his sentences were properly stopped.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To cease to go on; to halt, or stand still; to come to a stop.
He bites his lip, and starts;Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground;Then lays his finger on his temple: straitSprings out into fast gait; then stops again.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To cease from any motion, or course of action.
Stop, while ye may, suspend your mad career!
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To spend a short time; to reside temporarily; to stay; to tarry; as, to stop with a friend.
By stopping at home till the money was gone.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
The act of stopping, or the state of being stopped; hindrance of progress or of action; cessation; repression; interruption; check; obstruction.
It is doubtful . . . whether it contributed anything to the stop of the infection.
Occult qualities put a stop to the improvement of natural philosophy.
It is a great step toward the mastery of our desires to give this stop to them.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
That which stops, impedes, or obstructs; as obstacle; an impediment; an obstruction.
A fatal stop traversed their headlong course.
So melancholy a prospect should inspire us with zeal to oppose some stop to the rising torrent.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A device, or piece, as a pin, block, pawl, etc., for arresting or limiting motion, or for determining the position to which another part shall be brought.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
The closing of an aperture in the air passage, or pressure of the finger upon the string, of an instrument of music, so as to modify the tone; hence, any contrivance by which the sounds of a musical instrument are regulated.
The organ sound a time survives the stop.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
In the organ, one of the knobs or handles at each side of the organist, by which he can draw on or shut off any register or row of pipes; the register itself; as, the vox humana stop.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A member, plain or molded, formed of a separate piece and fixed to a jamb, against which a door or window shuts. This takes the place, or answers the purpose, of a rebate. Also, a pin or block to prevent a drawer from sliding too far.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A point or mark in writing or printing intended to distinguish the sentences, parts of a sentence, or clauses; a mark of punctuation. See Punctuation.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
The diaphragm used in optical instruments to cut off the marginal portions of a beam of light passing through lenses.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
The depression in the face of a dog between the skull and the nasal bones. It is conspicuous in the bulldog, pug, and some other breeds.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
Some part of the articulating organs, as the lips, or the tongue and palate, closed (a) so as to cut off the passage of breath or voice through the mouth and the nose (distinguished as a lip-stop, or a front-stop, etc., as in p, t, d, etc.), or (b) so as to obstruct, but not entirely cut off, the passage, as in l, n, etc.; also, any of the consonants so formed.
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
The event of something ending;
It came to a stop at the bottom of the hill
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
The act of stopping something;
The third baseman made some remarkable stops
His stoppage of the flow resulted in a flood
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A brief stay in the course of a journey;
They made a stopover to visit their friends
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
The state of inactivity following an interruption;
The negotiations were in arrest
Held them in check
During the halt he got some lunch
The momentary stay enabled him to escape the blow
He spent the entire stop in his seat
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A consonant produced by stopping the flow of air at some point and suddenly releasing it;
His stop consonants are too aspirated
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations;
In England they call a period a stop
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
(music) a knob on an organ that is pulled to change the sound quality from the organ pipes;
The organist pulled out all the stops
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A mechanical device in a camera that controls size of aperture of the lens;
The new cameras adjust the diaphragm automatically
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
A restraint that checks the motion of something;
He used a book as a stop to hold the door open
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
An obstruction in a pipe or tube;
We had to call a plumber to clear out the blockage in the drainpipe
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
Come to a halt, stop moving;
The car stopped
She stopped in front of a store window
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
Interrupt a trip;
We stopped at Aunt Mary's house
They stopped for three days in Florence
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
Hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of;
Arrest the downward trend
Check the growth of communism in Sout East Asia
Contain the rebel movement
Turn back the tide of communism
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
Seize on its way;
The fighter plane was ordered to intercept an aircraft that had entered the country's airspace
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
Have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical;
The bronchioles terminate in a capillary bed
Your rights stop where you infringe upon the rights of other
My property ends by the bushes
The symphony ends in a pianissimo
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
Render unsuitable for passage;
Block the way
Barricade the streets
Stop the busy road
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
Stop and wait, as if awaiting further instructions or developments;
Hold on a moment!
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Stop
To cease movement or action
He stopped walking when he heard the noise.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Stop
To prevent something from happening
She stopped the leak with some tape.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Stop
To pause in a journey or process
We stopped at the store on the way home.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
Can "stop" and "quit" be used interchangeably?
Not always, as "stop" can imply temporary cessation while "quit" often suggests permanence.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Does "quit" imply a formal process?
Sometimes, especially in the context of jobs or official roles.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Is "quit" always negative?
Not necessarily, though it can carry a connotation of giving up.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Is "quit" only used for habits like smoking?
No, it can be used for quitting jobs, games, or any long-term activity.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Can "stop" imply a permanent end?
Yes, but it's often used for temporary pauses as well.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Is "quit" used in formal language?
Yes, particularly in formal resignations or official statements.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Is "quit" a stronger word than "stop"?
Often, it is perceived as more definitive.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Can "stop" refer to physical movement only?
No, "stop" can refer to any kind of cessation, not just physical movement.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Can "stop" be a command?
Yes, like saying "Stop!" to halt an action immediately.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Can "stop" be used in casual conversation?
Yes, it's commonly used in everyday speech.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Can "stop" be used in legal contexts?
Yes, like a stop order in finance or law enforcement.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Can "stop" refer to ceasing to think or talk about something?
Yes, like stopping to worry about an issue.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Can "quit" be used positively?
Yes, like quitting a bad habit for health reasons.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Is "stop" used in emergency situations?
Yes, often as a directive to cease an action immediately.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Does "quit" always need an object (like quitting something)?
Generally, yes, as it refers to leaving or stopping something specific.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Does "quit" have different meanings in different cultures?
Yes, cultural contexts can influence its connotation.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Can "quit" imply a sense of relief?
Yes, especially when leaving a stressful or unwanted situation.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Can "stop" be involuntary?
Yes, like a machine stopping due to malfunction.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
Is "stop" used in technology contexts?
Yes, like stopping a process or application.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 26, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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