"his laughter stopped as quickly as it had begun"

• cease to perform a specified action or have a specified experience

  "she stopped giggling"

• abandon a specified practice or habit

  "I've stopped eating meat"

• stop moving or operating

  "he stopped to look at the view"

• (of a bus or train) call at a designated place to pick up or set down passengers

  "main-line trains stop at platform 7"

• stay somewhere for a short time

  "you'll have to stop the night"

"this harassment has got to be stopped"

• prevent (an action or event) from happening

  "a security guard was killed trying to stop a raid"

• prevent or dissuade (someone) from continuing in an activity or achieving an aim

  "a campaign is under way to stop the bombers"

• prevent (someone or something) from performing a specified action or undergoing a specified experience

  "several attempts were made to stop him giving evidence"

• cause or order to cease moving or operating

  "he stopped his car by the house"

• be hit by (a bullet)
• instruct a bank to withhold payment on (a cheque)

  "he grew nervous about the deal and asked his bank manager to stop the cheque"

• refuse to supply as usual; withhold or deduct

  "they stopped the strikers' wages"

• defeat (an opponent) by a knockout

  "he was stopped in the sixth by Tyson"

• pinch back (a plant)

"he tried to stop the hole with the heel of his boot"

• put a filling in (a tooth)
• block the mouth of (a fox's earth) prior to a hunt
• plug the upper end of (an organ pipe), giving a note an octave lower
• obtain the required pitch from (the string of a violin or similar instrument) by pressing at the appropriate point with the finger
• make (a rope) fast with a stopper

"‘Why was she so?’ ‘I don't know, you know how dem old people stop.’"

• remain in a particular state or condition

  "he said I mustn't stop barefooted, so I had to buy a pair of new shoes"

"all business came to a stop"

• a break or halt during a journey

  "allow an hour or so for driving and as long as you like for stops"

• a place designated for a bus or train to halt and pick up or set down passengers

  "the bus was pulling up at her stop"

• an object or part of a mechanism which is used to prevent something from moving

  "the shelves have special stops to prevent them from being pulled out too far"

• a punctuation mark, especially a full stop
• used in telegrams to indicate a full stop

  "MEET YOU AT THE AIRPORT STOP"

• a consonant produced with complete closure of the vocal tract

  "a bilabial stop"

• a high card that prevents the opponents from establishing a particular suit; a control

  "if West bids 3♥ now, this will show a heart stop"

• a short length of rope used to secure something; a stopper

• a knob, lever, or similar device in an organ or harpsichord which brings into play a set of pipes or strings of a particular tone and range of pitch

• a device for reducing the effective diameter of a lens
• a unit of change of relative aperture or exposure (with a reduction of one stop equivalent to halving it)