Stop vs. Quit — What's the Difference?
By Maham Liaqat & Fiza Rafique — Updated on March 21, 2024
Stop implies pausing or halting an action temporarily or permanently, while quit suggests leaving or giving up an activity, often with a sense of finality.
Difference Between Stop and Quit
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Stop refers to the act of bringing or coming to an end, whether temporarily or permanently. It can be applied to a wide range of contexts, from physical movements to abstract processes. On the other hand, quit typically carries a connotation of abandonment or resignation from a situation, role, or habit, often implying a deliberate decision to leave or cease involvement.
While "stop" can be used in contexts that require a temporary pause, such as stopping to rest during a run, "quit" suggests a more definitive end, such as quitting a job, which implies not returning to the same position.
In everyday language, to "stop" doing something can imply a brief interruption, with the possibility of resuming later. For example, stopping to answer a phone call during a task. Conversely, to "quit" an activity, like quitting smoking, usually indicates a permanent cessation with no intention of resuming.
In legal or formal contexts, "stop" can denote the cessation of actions by an authority's order, such as a court stopping a construction project. Whereas "quit" is often used in terms of ending personal involvement, as in quitting a membership in a club.
Culturally, the term "stop" is often seen as less severe and more flexible, allowing for future changes in decision. In contrast, "quit" can carry a heavier emotional weight, often associated with the challenge of leaving a habit or commitment behind.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Ceasing movement or action, temporarily or permanently.
Leaving or giving up something with a sense of finality.
Connotation
Can be temporary or permanent, less final than quit.
Suggests finality and a deliberate decision to leave.
Contexts
Physical movements, actions, processes.
Jobs, habits, roles, activities.
Temporality
May imply a pause or end.
Generally implies a permanent end.
Example in Sentence
E.g., He stopped the car at the red light.
E.g., She quit her job to start her own business.
Compare with Definitions
Stop
To bring an activity to an end.
The meeting was stopped due to an emergency.
Quit
To leave a job or position.
He quit his job to travel the world.
Stop
To cease movement or action.
He stopped walking when he saw the sign.
Quit
To stop doing an activity, especially a habit.
She quit smoking last year.
Stop
To prevent something from happening.
The software update was stopped to avoid errors.
Quit
To abandon a place or situation.
They quit the city for a quieter life in the countryside.
Stop
To pause an action temporarily.
She stopped reading to answer the phone.
Quit
To give up on a difficult task or situation.
They quit trying to fix the old car.
Stop
To halt a process or flow.
The construction was stopped by the city council.
Quit
To withdraw from a role or obligation.
He quit the club due to personal reasons.
Stop
(of an event, action, or process) come to an end; cease to happen
His laughter stopped as quickly as it had begun
The rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared
Quit
To cease or discontinue
Asked them to quit talking.
Quit smoking.
Stop
Cause (an action, process, or event) to come to an end
This harassment has got to be stopped
Quit
To resign from or relinquish
Quit a job.
Stop
Block or close up (a hole or leak)
The stile has been stopped up
He tried to stop the hole with the heel of his boot
Quit
To depart from; leave
"You and I are on the point of quitting the theater of our exploits" (Horatio Nelson).
Stop
Be or behave in a particular way
‘Why was she so?’ ‘I don't know, you know how dem old people stop.’
Quit
To leave the company of
Had to quit the gathering in order to be home by midnight.
Stop
A cessation of movement or operation
There were constant stops and changes of pace
All business came to a stop
Quit
(Computers) To exit (an application).
Stop
A set of organ pipes of a particular tone and range of pitch.
Quit
To rid oneself of by paying
Quit a debt.
Stop
The effective diameter of a lens.
Quit
To release from a burden or responsibility.
Stop
To close (an opening or hole) by covering, filling in, or plugging up
The tea leaves stopped the drain.
Quit
To cease an action or cease working properly; stop
The car quit on the hill.
Stop
To constrict (an opening or orifice)
My nose is stopped up.
Quit
To abandon an activity out of frustration or despair; give up
Saw that he would never get the part and quit.
Stop
To obstruct or block passage on (a road, for example).
Quit
To resign from or leave a job.
Stop
To prevent the flow or passage of
Stop supplies from getting through.
Quit
Absolved of a duty or an obligation; free.
Stop
To halt the motion or progress of
Stopped me and asked directions.
Quit
(usually followed by of) Released from obligation, penalty, etc; free, clear, or rid.
Stop
To block or deflect (a blow, for example); parry or ward off.
Quit
To pay (a debt, fine etc.).
Stop
To cause to desist or to change a course of action
The rain stopped us from continuing the argument.
Quit
To repay (someone) for (something).
Stop
To prevent or restrain
An invitation to dinner stopped him from going to the movies.
Quit
To repay, pay back (a good deed, injury etc.).
Stop
To discontinue or cease
He stopped his complaining.
Quit
To conduct or acquit (oneself); to behave (in a specified way).
Stop
To defeat (an opponent or opposing team).
Quit
To carry through; to go through to the end.
Stop
To defeat in boxing by a knockout or technical knockout.
Quit
(transitive) To set at rest; to free, as from anything harmful or oppressive; to relieve; to clear; to liberate.
Stop
To order a bank to withhold payment of
Stopped the check.
Quit
(transitive) To release from obligation, accusation, penalty, etc.; to absolve; to acquit.
Stop
To press down (a string on a stringed instrument) on the fingerboard to produce a desired pitch.
Quit
(transitive) To abandon, renounce (a thing).
Stop
To close (a hole on a wind instrument) with the finger in sounding a desired pitch.
Quit
(transitive) To leave (a place).
Stop
To cease moving, progressing, acting, or operating; come to a halt
The clock stopped in the night.
Quit
To resign from (a job, office, position, etc.).
After having to work overtime without being paid, I quit my job.
Stop
To put an end to what one is doing; cease
Had to stop at an exciting place in the book.
Quit
To stop, give up (an activity) (usually + gerund or verbal noun).
John is planning to quit smoking.
Stop
To interrupt one's course or journey for a brief visit or stay. Often used with by, in, or off
Stop by at a friend's house.
Stop in at the office.
Stop off at the gas station.
Quit
To close (an application).
Stop
The act of stopping or the condition of being stopped
Can't you put a stop to all this ruckus? Production is at a stop.
Quit
Any of numerous species of small passerine birds native to tropical America.
Stop
A halt or stay, as on a trip
We made a stop in Austin.
Quit
Any one of numerous species of small passerine birds native of tropical America. See Banana quit, under Banana, and Guitguit.
Stop
A place at which someone or something stops
A regular stop on my delivery route.
A bus stop.
Quit
Released from obligation, charge, penalty, etc.; free; clear; absolved; acquitted.
The owner of the ox shall be quit.
Stop
A device or means that obstructs, blocks, or plugs up.
Quit
To release from obligation, accusation, penalty, or the like; to absolve; to acquit.
There may no gold them quyte.
God will relent, and quit thee all his debt.
Stop
An order given to a bank to withhold payment on a check.
Quit
To discharge, as an obligation or duty; to meet and satisfy, as a claim or debt; to make payment for or of; to requite; to repay.
The blissful martyr quyte you your meed.
Enkindle all the sparks of natureTo quit this horrid act.
Before that judge that quits each soul his hire.
Stop
A stop order.
Quit
To meet the claims upon, or expectations entertained of; to conduct; to acquit; - used reflexively.
Be strong, and quit yourselves like men.
Samson hath quit himselfLike Samson.
Stop
A part in a mechanism that stops or regulates movement.
Quit
To carry through; to go through to the end.
Never worthy prince a day did quitWith greater hazard and with more renown.
Stop
The effective aperture of a lens, controlled by a diaphragm.
Quit
To have done with; to cease from; to stop; hence, to depart from; to leave; to forsake; as, to quit work; to quit the place; to quit jesting.
Such a superficial way of examining is to quit truth for appearance.
Does not the earth quit scores with all the elements in the noble fruits that issue from it?
Stop
A mark of punctuation, especially a period.
Quit
To go away; to depart; to stop doing a thing; to cease.
Stop
The act of stopping a string or hole on an instrument.
Quit
Put an end to a state or an activity;
Quit teasing your little brother
Stop
A fret on a stringed instrument.
Quit
Give up or retire from a position;
The Secretary fo the Navy will leave office next month
The chairman resigned over the financial scandal
Stop
A hole on a wind instrument.
Quit
Go away or leave
Stop
A device such as a key for closing the hole on a wind instrument.
Quit
Turn away from; give up;
I am foreswearing women forever
Stop
A tuned set of pipes, as in an organ.
Quit
Give up in the face of defeat of lacking hope; admit defeat;
In the second round, the challenger gave up
Stop
A knob, key, or pull that regulates such a set of pipes.
Stop
(Nautical) A line used for securing something temporarily
A sail stop.
Stop
(Linguistics) One of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal.
Stop
A plosive.
Stop
The depression between the muzzle and top of the skull of an animal, especially a dog.
Stop
(Sports) A save made by a goalie.
Stop
(Games) A stopper.
Stop
(Architecture) A projecting stone, often carved, at the end of a molding.
Stop
A control mechanism on an audio or video player that causes a recording to stop playing.
Stop
Of, relating to, or being of use at the end of an operation or activity
A stop code.
Stop
(intransitive) To cease moving.
I stopped at the traffic lights.
Stop
(intransitive) Not to continue.
The riots stopped when police moved in.
Soon the rain will stop.
Stop
(transitive) To cause (something) to cease moving or progressing.
The sight of the armed men stopped him in his tracks.
This guy is a fraudster. I need to stop the cheque I wrote him.
Stop
(transitive) To cease; to no longer continue (doing something).
One of the wrestlers suddenly stopped fighting.
Please stop telling me those terrible jokes.
Stop
(transitive) To cause (something) to come to an end.
The referees stopped the fight.
Stop
(transitive) To close or block an opening.
He stopped the wound with gauze.
Stop
To adjust the aperture of a camera lens.
To achieve maximum depth of field, he stopped down to an f-stop of 22.
Stop
(intransitive) To stay; to spend a short time; to reside or tarry temporarily.
To stop with a friend
He stopped for two weeks at the inn.
He stopped at his friend's house before continuing with his drive.
Stop
(music) To regulate the sounds of (musical strings, etc.) by pressing them against the fingerboard with the finger, or otherwise shortening the vibrating part.
Stop
(obsolete) To punctuate.
Stop
(nautical) To make fast; to stopper.
Stop
To pronounce (a phoneme) as a stop.
Stop
To delay the purchase or sale of (a stock) while agreeing the price for later.
Stop
A (usually marked) place where buses, trams or trains halt to let passengers get on and off, usually smaller than a station.
Related terms: halt, station.
They agreed to meet at the bus stop.
Stop
An action of stopping; interruption of travel.
That stop was not planned.
Stop
That which stops, impedes, or obstructs; an obstacle; an impediment.
Stop
A device intended to block the path of a moving object
Door stop
Stop
(engineering) A device, or piece, as a pin, block, pawl, etc., for arresting or limiting motion, or for determining the position to which another part shall be brought.
Stop
(architecture) A member, plain or moulded, formed of a separate piece and fixed to a jamb, against which a door or window shuts.
Stop
(linguistics) A consonant sound in which the passage of air through the mouth is temporarily blocked by the lips, tongue, or glottis.
Stop
A symbol used for purposes of punctuation and representing a pause or separating clauses, particularly a full stop, comma, colon or semicolon.
Stop
(music) A knob or pin used to regulate the flow of air in an organ.
The organ is loudest when all the stops are pulled.
Stop
(music) One of the vent-holes in a wind instrument, or the place on the wire of a stringed instrument, by the stopping or pressing of which certain notes are produced.
Stop
(tennis) A very short shot which touches the ground close behind the net and is intended to bounce as little as possible.
Stop
(football) A save; preventing the opposition from scoring a goal
Stop
(zoology) The depression in a dog’s face between the skull and the nasal bones.
The stop in a bulldog's face is very marked.
Stop
(photography) A part of a photographic system that reduces the amount of light.
Stop
(photography) A unit of exposure corresponding to a doubling of the brightness of an image.
Stop
(photography) An f-stop.
Stop
The diaphragm used in optical instruments to cut off the marginal portions of a beam of light passing through lenses.
Stop
(fencing) A coup d'arret, or stop thrust.
Stop
A small well-bucket; a milk-pail.
Stop
(physics) The squark that is the superpartner of a top quark.
Stop
To close, as an aperture, by filling or by obstructing; as, to stop the ears; hence, to stanch, as a wound.
Stop
To obstruct; to render impassable; as, to stop a way, road, or passage.
Stop
To hinder from acting or moving; to prevent the effect or efficiency of; to cause to cease; to repress; to restrain; to suppress; to interrupt; to suspend; as, to stop the execution of a decree, the progress of vice, the approaches of old age or infirmity.
Whose disposition all the world well knowsWill not be rubbed nor stopped.
Stop
To regulate the sounds of, as musical strings, by pressing them against the finger board with the finger, or by shortening in any way the vibrating part.
Stop
To point, as a composition; to punctuate.
If his sentences were properly stopped.
Stop
To make fast; to stopper.
Stop
To cease to go on; to halt, or stand still; to come to a stop.
He bites his lip, and starts;Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground;Then lays his finger on his temple: straitSprings out into fast gait; then stops again.
Stop
To cease from any motion, or course of action.
Stop, while ye may, suspend your mad career!
Stop
To spend a short time; to reside temporarily; to stay; to tarry; as, to stop with a friend.
By stopping at home till the money was gone.
Stop
The act of stopping, or the state of being stopped; hindrance of progress or of action; cessation; repression; interruption; check; obstruction.
It is doubtful . . . whether it contributed anything to the stop of the infection.
Occult qualities put a stop to the improvement of natural philosophy.
It is a great step toward the mastery of our desires to give this stop to them.
Stop
That which stops, impedes, or obstructs; as obstacle; an impediment; an obstruction.
A fatal stop traversed their headlong course.
So melancholy a prospect should inspire us with zeal to oppose some stop to the rising torrent.
Stop
A device, or piece, as a pin, block, pawl, etc., for arresting or limiting motion, or for determining the position to which another part shall be brought.
Stop
The closing of an aperture in the air passage, or pressure of the finger upon the string, of an instrument of music, so as to modify the tone; hence, any contrivance by which the sounds of a musical instrument are regulated.
The organ sound a time survives the stop.
Stop
In the organ, one of the knobs or handles at each side of the organist, by which he can draw on or shut off any register or row of pipes; the register itself; as, the vox humana stop.
Stop
A member, plain or molded, formed of a separate piece and fixed to a jamb, against which a door or window shuts. This takes the place, or answers the purpose, of a rebate. Also, a pin or block to prevent a drawer from sliding too far.
Stop
A point or mark in writing or printing intended to distinguish the sentences, parts of a sentence, or clauses; a mark of punctuation. See Punctuation.
Stop
The diaphragm used in optical instruments to cut off the marginal portions of a beam of light passing through lenses.
Stop
The depression in the face of a dog between the skull and the nasal bones. It is conspicuous in the bulldog, pug, and some other breeds.
Stop
Some part of the articulating organs, as the lips, or the tongue and palate, closed (a) so as to cut off the passage of breath or voice through the mouth and the nose (distinguished as a lip-stop, or a front-stop, etc., as in p, t, d, etc.), or (b) so as to obstruct, but not entirely cut off, the passage, as in l, n, etc.; also, any of the consonants so formed.
Stop
The event of something ending;
It came to a stop at the bottom of the hill
Stop
The act of stopping something;
The third baseman made some remarkable stops
His stoppage of the flow resulted in a flood
Stop
A brief stay in the course of a journey;
They made a stopover to visit their friends
Stop
The state of inactivity following an interruption;
The negotiations were in arrest
Held them in check
During the halt he got some lunch
The momentary stay enabled him to escape the blow
He spent the entire stop in his seat
Stop
A spot where something halts or pauses;
His next stop is Atlanta
Stop
A consonant produced by stopping the flow of air at some point and suddenly releasing it;
His stop consonants are too aspirated
Stop
A punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations;
In England they call a period a stop
Stop
(music) a knob on an organ that is pulled to change the sound quality from the organ pipes;
The organist pulled out all the stops
Stop
A mechanical device in a camera that controls size of aperture of the lens;
The new cameras adjust the diaphragm automatically
Stop
A restraint that checks the motion of something;
He used a book as a stop to hold the door open
Stop
An obstruction in a pipe or tube;
We had to call a plumber to clear out the blockage in the drainpipe
Stop
Come to a halt, stop moving;
The car stopped
She stopped in front of a store window
Stop
Put an end to a state or an activity;
Quit teasing your little brother
Stop
Stop from happening or developing;
Block his election
Halt the process
Stop
Interrupt a trip;
We stopped at Aunt Mary's house
They stopped for three days in Florence
Stop
Cause to stop;
Stop a car
Stop the thief
Stop
Prevent completion;
Stop the project
Break off the negociations
Stop
Hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of;
Arrest the downward trend
Check the growth of communism in Sout East Asia
Contain the rebel movement
Turn back the tide of communism
Stop
Seize on its way;
The fighter plane was ordered to intercept an aircraft that had entered the country's airspace
Stop
Have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical;
The bronchioles terminate in a capillary bed
Your rights stop where you infringe upon the rights of other
My property ends by the bushes
The symphony ends in a pianissimo
Stop
Render unsuitable for passage;
Block the way
Barricade the streets
Stop the busy road
Stop
Stop and wait, as if awaiting further instructions or developments;
Hold on a moment!
Common Curiosities
What are common situations where "stop" is used?
"Stop" is commonly used in situations requiring a pause or end to an action, like stopping a car at a red light or stopping work to take a break.
How is quitting different from stopping?
Quitting usually implies a final decision to leave or give up on something, especially a job, habit, or activity, while stopping can be temporary.
Is it more serious to quit or to stop?
Quitting is often seen as more serious because it implies a final decision to leave or give up something significant, like a job or habit.
Can you stop a habit, or do you quit a habit?
Both can be used, but "quit" is more common when referring to ending a habit, especially one that's hard to break, like smoking.
What does it mean to stop something?
Stopping something means to bring it to a halt, either temporarily or permanently, depending on the context.
Is it possible to stop a decision?
Yes, one can stop or reconsider a decision before it's fully acted upon, indicating a pause or reevaluation.
Can you quit something temporarily?
Quitting generally implies a final or long-term cessation, but in casual language, one might say they're "quitting" something temporarily, though "taking a break" might be more accurate.
Is stopping an action always intentional?
Stopping can be either intentional or involuntary, such as stopping due to an obstacle or because of a decision.
Can "quit" have a positive connotation?
Yes, quitting can be positive, especially when it involves leaving a negative situation or habit for a better quality of life.
How is "quit" used in employment contexts?
In employment, "quit" means to resign or leave one's job or position, typically voluntarily.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
