mindmap root((留下)) stay stresses continuance in a place or sometimes a situation and may connote the status of a visitor: ~ed in the same job for over forty years. remain is often used interchangeably with stay but distinctively means to stay behind or to be left after others have gone: only one ~ed in the building after the alarm was given. wait implies a staying in expectation or in readiness: ~ for an answer to a letter. abide implies a prolonged staying or remaining behind and suggests either settled residence or patient waiting for some outcome: a culture whose influence will long ~. tarry suggests a staying or a failing to proceed when it is time to do so: ~ied too long and misses the train. linger close to tarry, may add an implication of deliberate delaying or unwillingness to depart: ~ed over a second cup of coffee.