Dictionary

stay back en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈsteɪˈbek̚/ (Singapore)
• /steɪˈbæk/ (UK, US)

Etymology

Phrasal verb formed with English elements, stay (verb) and back (preposition).

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To remain (at work, school, organisation, country, etc.) after normal hours
   • 'Because my stupid father thought it would be good for me to stay back and serve NS. he actually insisted that I do it.' 2017, Angelia Poon, Angus Whitehead, editors, Singapore Literature and Culture: Current Directions in Local and Global Contexts, page 259:
   • 'The monitoring system would require Hock to stay back after school until 5 pm everyday to catch up on his school, have one of the discipline teachers to acknowledge the time he returned home.' 2016, Singapore Teachers: Narratives of Care, Hope and Commitment, page 66:
   • 'Of course, if we didn’t finish our work we had to stay back, and there was no such thing as overtime. 2016, Singapore Eurasians: Memories, Hopes and Dreams, page 108:
   • When parents are late, childcare workers have to stay back late to take care of the children. 2011, Crisis Management and Public Policy: Singapore's Approach to Economic Resilience:
   • When caught for breaking the language rule, the punishment was to stay back in school and write lines of repentance for his wrongdoing: but in the school fields and canteens, Leow noted that, “students chattered in Mandarin and Hokkien as they wished with nobody to stop them.” 2012, A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in Singapore: From Colonialism to Nationalism, page 155:
   • Mr Como was quite displeased and he told me to stay back tomorrow and do it. 2011, My Kiasu Teenage Life in Singapore:
   • Many of these students, in fact, do stay back and work in Singapore after their studies are over. 2009, India Fever: The New Indian Professional in Singapore, page 106:
2. (intransitive) To keep one's distance from a place, often because of some danger.
   • ‘No, no, no. You stay back there. I don’t want you anywhere near me.’ 2017, Beneath the Lion City: Irreal Stories of Singapore, page 68:
   • 'Sir, you have to get back,' said a uniformed voice, an ambulance officer this time. 'We're asking everybody to stay back.' 'I live here,' he said. 'With my wife and my boy. Have you seen them?' 2011, Her Singapore Fling, page 166:
   • Other bystanders had noticed him and like Rizby, had kept their distance, but now they began to creep forward to peer at the body. ‘Stay back!’ Rizby yelled. ‘Back! All of you!’ 2017, Singapore Red:

Forms

Synonyms

stay behind (to remain) · tarry

Translations (3)

la abhibeo (to keep one's distance from a place, often because of some danger) · ru оставаться подольше (to remain (at work, school, organisation, country, etc.) after normal hours) · ru держаться подальше (to keep one's distance from a place, often because of some danger)