Standard Lemma guide

stopcock

noun · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈstɑpkɑk/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈstɒpkɒk/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A valve, tap or faucet which regulates the flow of liquid or gas through a pipe.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A main shutoff for water to a home from a municipal supply. Usually these valves exist in pairs, one outside the property boundary and one inside the property boundary.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK

Examples

  • If you have a burst pipe, turn the water off at the stopcock.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To control the gas pressure in (an oil well) by keeping the well closed in and the gas confined except during set intervals when the oil is flowed or pumped.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

faucet consisting of a rotating device for regulating flow of a liquid

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cock, turncock

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: faucet, spigot

History

Etymology

From stop + cock.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مِحْبَس (miḥbas) — valve, tap or faucet
  • Bulgarian: спирателен кран (spiratelen kran) — valve, tap or faucet
  • Chinese Mandarin: 旋塞 (xuánsāi) — valve, tap or faucet
  • Finnish: sulkuventtiili — valve, tap or faucet
  • Finnish: sulkuhana — valve, tap or faucet
  • French: robinet d'arrêt — valve, tap or faucet
  • French: vanne — valve, tap or faucet
  • German: Absperrhahn — valve, tap or faucet
  • Hebrew: בֶּרֶז (berez) — valve, tap or faucet
  • Hebrew: שַׁסְתוֹם (shastom) — valve, tap or faucet
  • Italian: rubinetto di arresto — valve, tap or faucet
  • Japanese: 元栓 (motosen) — valve, tap or faucet
  • Māori: katirere — valve, tap or faucet
  • Māori: katiwai — valve, tap or faucet
  • Spanish: llave de cierre — valve, tap or faucet
  • Thai: ลูกบิด (lûuk-bìt) — valve, tap or faucet
  • Finnish: pääventtiili — main shutoff
  • French: robinet d'arrêt — main shutoff
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stoppekran — main shutoff
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: stoppekran — main shutoff
  • Portuguese: torneira de segurança — main shutoff