Definition

1. Noun:

   • Adult male deer: A stag is a fully grown male deer, particularly referring to species like the red deer.
   • A man attending a social event alone: Informally, a stag is a man who attends a dance, party, or other social gathering without a female companion.
   • A speculator in stocks: In finance, a stag is a person who buys and sells new shares quickly to make a short-term profit.

2. Verb:

   • To spy or watch secretly: To stag means to observe or follow someone in a covert or sneaky manner.
   • To inform on someone; to tell tales: To stag means to give away information about someone, often to an authority.
   • To attend a social event without a female companion: To stag means for a man to go to a party or dance alone.

Examples

• Noun:

  • We saw a magnificent stag with large antlers in the forest.
  • John decided to go to the wedding as a stag because his girlfriend was out of town.
  • The stag made a quick profit by selling the new company's shares on the first day.

• Verb:

  • The detective was stagged to follow the suspect's movements.
  • He stagged on his coworkers to the manager about the broken machine.
  • Most of the guys are stagging at the formal dance this year.

Advanced Usage

• "Stag party": A social gathering for men only, typically held for a man who is about to get married.

  • His friends organized a wild stag party for him before the wedding.

• "Stag film": An old-fashioned term for a pornographic movie intended for a male audience.

  • The term "stag film" was common in the early 20th century.

Variants and Related Words

• Stagger (verb): To walk or move unsteadily, as if about to fall. (Note: This is a different word with a different meaning).
• Staggy (adj., informal): Resembling or characteristic of a stag (male deer).
  • The costume had a staggy look with fake antlers.

Synonyms

• Noun (deer): Buck, hart.
• Noun (man alone): Lone wolf, bachelor (in this specific context).
• Verb (spy): Spy, snoop, shadow.
• Verb (inform): Snitch, tell on, rat on.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Phrases

• To go stag: To attend a social event without a female date.

  • Since he was new in town, he had to go stag to the company gala.

• Stag night/Stag do: Equivalent terms for a stag party, more common in British English.

  • His stag do is planned for next weekend in London.

Related Idioms

• Stag market: A stock market condition where prices are rising rapidly, often attracting short-term speculators ("stags").
  • Many stags made fortunes during the stag market of the late 1990s.

Noun

1. adult male deer
2. a male deer, especially an adult male red deer

Verb

1. watch, observe, or inquire secretly
2. give away information about somebody
   • He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam
3. attend a dance or a party without a female companion