overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

still.

Not moving; calm.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈstɪl/[ˈstɪl]/ˈstɪo̯//ˈstɪʊ̯/
  1. Not moving; calm.

    Sit there and stay still!
    Still waters run deep.
  2. Not effervescing; not sparkling.

    still water; still wines
  3. Uttering no sound; silent.

  4. Having the same stated quality continuously from a past time

    not-comparable
  5. Comparatively quiet or silent; soft; gentle; low.

  6. Constant; continual.

    obsolete
  7. Dormant.

    dated
    a still spore
Where this word comes from

From Middle English stille (“motionless, stationary”), from Old English stille (“still, quiet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stillī, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telH- (“to be silent; to be still”). Cognate with Scots stil (“still”), Saterland Frisian stil (“motionless, calm, quiet”), West Frisian stil (“quiet, still”), Dutch stil (“quiet, silent, still”), Low German still (“quiet, silent, still”), German still (“still, quiet, tranquil, silent”), Swedish stilla (“quiet, silent, peaceful”), Icelandic stilltur (“set, quiet, calm, still”). Related to stall. (noun: Falkland Islander): Military slang, short for still a Benny, since the military had been instructed not to refer to the islanders by the derogatory term Benny (which see).

adv/ˈstɪl/[ˈstɪl]/ˈstɪo̯//ˈstɪʊ̯/
  1. Without motion.

    not-comparable
    They stood still until the guard was out of sight.
  2. Up to a time, as in the preceding time.

    not-comparable
    Is it still raining? It was still raining five minutes ago.
    We’ve seen most of the sights, but we are still visiting the museum.
  3. To an even greater degree. Used to modify comparative adjectives or adverbs.

    not-comparable
    Tom is tall; Dick is taller; Harry is still taller / Harry is taller still.
  4. Nevertheless.

    conjunctive · not-comparable
    I’m not hungry, but I’ll still manage to find room for dessert.
    Yeah, but still...
  5. Always; invariably; constantly; continuously.

    archaic · not-comparable · poetic
  6. Even, yet.

    not-comparable
    Some dogs howl; more yelp; still more bark.
  7. Alternative spelling of styll.

    alt-of · alternative · not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English stille (“motionless, stationary”), from Old English stille (“still, quiet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stillī, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telH- (“to be silent; to be still”). Cognate with Scots stil (“still”), Saterland Frisian stil (“motionless, calm, quiet”), West Frisian stil (“quiet, still”), Dutch stil (“quiet, silent, still”), Low German still (“quiet, silent, still”), German still (“still, quiet, tranquil, silent”), Swedish stilla (“quiet, silent, peaceful”), Icelandic stilltur (“set, quiet, calm, still”). Related to stall. (noun: Falkland Islander): Military slang, short for still a Benny, since the military had been instructed not to refer to the islanders by the derogatory term Benny (which see).

noun/ˈstɪl/[ˈstɪl]/ˈstɪo̯//ˈstɪʊ̯/
  1. A period of calm or silence.

    the still of the night
  2. A photograph, as opposed to movie footage.

  3. A photograph, as opposed to movie footage. A single frame from a film.

  4. A resident of the Falkland Islands.

    slang
Where this word comes from

From Middle English stille (“motionless, stationary”), from Old English stille (“still, quiet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stillī, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telH- (“to be silent; to be still”). Cognate with Scots stil (“still”), Saterland Frisian stil (“motionless, calm, quiet”), West Frisian stil (“quiet, still”), Dutch stil (“quiet, silent, still”), Low German still (“quiet, silent, still”), German still (“still, quiet, tranquil, silent”), Swedish stilla (“quiet, silent, peaceful”), Icelandic stilltur (“set, quiet, calm, still”). Related to stall. (noun: Falkland Islander): Military slang, short for still a Benny, since the military had been instructed not to refer to the islanders by the derogatory term Benny (which see).

noun/ˈstɪl/[ˈstɪl]/ˈstɪo̯//ˈstɪʊ̯/
  1. A device for distilling liquids.

  2. A large water boiler used to make tea and coffee.

  3. The area in a restaurant used to make tea and coffee, separate from the main kitchen.

  4. A building where liquors are distilled; a distillery.

Where this word comes from

Via Middle English stillen, clip of distillen; Old French distiller; Latin distillare, from dis- + stillare, from Latin stilla.

verb/ˈstɪl/[ˈstɪl]/ˈstɪo̯//ˈstɪʊ̯/
  1. To calm down, to quiet.

    to still the raging sea
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Old English stillan.

verb/ˈstɪl/[ˈstɪl]/ˈstɪo̯//ˈstɪʊ̯/
  1. To trickle, drip.

    obsolete
  2. To cause to fall by drops.

  3. To expel spirit from by heat, or to evaporate and condense in a refrigeratory; to distill.

Where this word comes from

Aphetic form of distil, or from Latin stillare.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

still has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

still studiostill workshello, still

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.