Remain vs. Stay: What's the Difference?
Edited by Harlon Moss || By Janet White || Updated on September 18, 2023
"Remain" refers to continuing to exist in a particular condition or place, often implying a passive state, while "Stay" indicates actively choosing to continue to be in a place or condition.
Key Differences
"Remain" and "Stay" are often used interchangeably, but they have subtle differences that affect their usage. "Remain" is a verb that signifies continuing to exist in a certain state or situation. It often implies a more passive continuation, suggesting that external circumstances dictate the condition. "Stay," on the other hand, indicates a more active decision to not leave a place or to continue in a certain state. The word suggests a conscious choice made by the subject.
In terms of formality, "Remain" is often considered more formal than "Stay." For instance, in legal or official documents, you're more likely to encounter "Remain" rather than "Stay." "Stay" is more commonly used in everyday conversations and casual settings. Both words, however, are grammatically versatile, being used in various tenses and grammatical constructions.
"Remain" and "Stay" also vary slightly in their collocations and idiomatic usage. Phrases like "remain calm" or "remain seated" are more common than "stay calm" or "stay seated," although both could be used. On the other hand, phrases like "stay put" or "stay awake" are more idiomatic than "remain put" or "remain awake."
Finally, the verbs "Remain" and "Stay" can also indicate different durations or permanence. "Remain" often implies a more indefinite or lasting state, whereas "Stay" may suggest a temporary condition. For instance, "He will remain in New York" could imply a longer, potentially permanent move, whereas "He will stay in New York" might imply a visit or temporary arrangement.
Comparison Chart
Implication
Passive
Active
ADVERTISEMENT
Formality
More Formal
Less Formal
Typical Usage
Legal Documents
Everyday Speech
Idiomatic Phrases
"Remain calm"
"Stay put"
Duration/Permanence
Indefinite/Permanent
Temporary/Short-term
Remain and Stay Definitions
Remain
To continue to exist in a certain condition.
The building remains intact after the storm.
ADVERTISEMENT
Stay
To halt or stop a process.
The judge granted a stay of execution.
Remain
To be left after others have gone or been taken.
Only a few people remain in the room.
Stay
To continue to be in a place or condition
Stay home.
Stay calm.
Remain
To be something yet to be done or considered.
Many questions remain unanswered.
Stay
To remain or sojourn as a guest or lodger
Stayed at a motel.
Remain
To persist in a place.
I chose to remain at home today.
Stay
To linger or wait in order to do or experience something
We stayed to watch the final minutes of the game.
Remain
To continue to be unaltered or unchanged.
The law remains the same despite protests.
Stay
To continue or persist in an action or activity
Stayed with the original plan.
Stayed in college.
Remain
To continue in the same state or condition
These matters remain in doubt.
Stay
To keep up in a race or contest
Tried to stay with the lead runner.
Remain
To continue to be in the same place; stay or stay behind
We are remaining at home.
Stay
(Games) To meet a bet in poker without raising it.
Remain
To be left after the removal, loss, passage, or destruction of others
Only a few trees remained after the storm. ].
Stay
(Archaic) To stop moving or stop doing something.
Remain
That which is left; relic; remainder.
Stay
To remain during
Stayed the week with my parents.
Stayed the duration of the game.
Remain
(in the plural) That which is left of a human being after the life is gone; relics; a dead body.
Stay
To stop or restrain; check
Doubt stayed his hand.
Remain
Posthumous works or productions, especially literary works.
Stay
To suspend by legal order the implementation of (a planned action), especially pending further proceedings
Stay a prisoner's execution.
Remain
(obsolete) State of remaining; stay.
Stay
To satisfy or appease temporarily
Stayed his anger.
Remain
To stay after others or other parts have been removed or otherwise disappeared.
After three rounds of interviews, only 5 candidates remained.
I like to make more than enough food if I have people round for dinner, so I can eat my way through what remains in the following days.
Stay
(Archaic) To wait for; await
"I will not stay thy questions. Let me go.
/ Or if thou follow me, do not believe / But I shall do thee mischief in the wood" (Shakespeare).
Remain
(mathematics) To be left after a number or quantity has been subtracted or cut off; to be left as not included or comprised.
If you divide 20 apples between three people, each gets six and two remain.
Stay
To brace, support, or prop up
The tower is stayed with cables.
Remain
To continue unchanged in place, form, or condition, or undiminished in quantity; to abide; to stay; to endure; to last.
Stay
To put (a ship) on the opposite tack or to come about.
Remain
To await; to be left to.
Stay
A brief period of residence or visiting.
Remain
(copulative) To continue in a state of being.
There was no food in the house, so I had to remain hungry.
The light remained red for two full minutes.
Stay
The order by which a planned action is stayed.
Remain
To stay behind while others withdraw; to be left after others have been removed or destroyed; to be left after a number or quantity has been subtracted or cut off; to be left as not included or comprised.
Gather up the fragments that remain.
Of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
That . . . remains to be proved.
Stay
The consequence of such an order.
Remain
To continue unchanged in place, form, or condition, or undiminished in quantity; to abide; to stay; to endure; to last.
Remain a widow at thy father's house.
Childless thou art; childless remain.
Stay
The act of halting; check.
Remain
To await; to be left to.
The easier conquest now remains thee.
Stay
The act of coming to a halt.
Remain
State of remaining; stay.
Which often, since my here remain in England,I 've seen him do.
Stay
A support or brace.
Remain
That which is left; relic; remainder; - chiefly in the plural.
When this remain of horror has entirely subsided.
Stay
A strip of bone, plastic, or metal, used to stiffen a garment or part, such as a corset or shirt collar.
Remain
That which is left of a human being after the life is gone; relics; a dead body.
Old warriors whose adored remainsIn weeping vaults her hallowed earth contains!
Stay
Stays A corset.
Remain
The posthumous works or productions, esp. literary works, of one who is dead; as, Cecil's
Stay
(Nautical) A heavy rope or cable, usually of wire, used as a brace or support for a mast or spar.
Remain
Stay the same; remain in a certain state;
The dress remained wet after repeated attempts to dry it
Rest assured
Stay alone
He remained unmoved by her tears
The bad weather continued for another week
Stay
A rope used to steady, guide, or brace.
Remain
Continue in a place, position, or situation;
After graduation, she stayed on in Cambridge as a student adviser
Stay with me, please
Despite student protests, he remained Dean for another year
She continued as deputy mayor for another year
Stay
(transitive) To prop; support; sustain; hold up; steady.
Remain
Be left; of persons, questions, problems, results, evidence, etc.;
There remains the question of who pulled the trigger
Carter remains the only President in recent history under whose Presidency the U.S. did not fight a war
Stay
(transitive) To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time.
Remain
Stay behind;
The smell stayed in the room
The hostility remained long after they made up
Stay
To stop; detain; keep back; delay; hinder.
Stay
To restrain; withhold; check; stop.
Stay
To cause to cease; to put an end to.
Stay
To put off; defer; postpone; delay; keep back.
The governor stayed the execution until the appeal could be heard.
Stay
(transitive) To hold the attention of. en
Stay
To bear up under; to endure; to hold out against; to resist.
Stay
To wait for; await.
Stay
To remain for the purpose of; to stay to take part in or be present at (a meal, ceremony etc.).
Stay
To rest; depend; rely.
Stay
To stop; come to a stand or standstill.
Stay
To come to an end; cease.
That day the storm stayed.
Stay
To dwell; linger; tarry; wait.
Stay
To make a stand; to stand firm.
Stay
(intransitive) To hold out, as in a race or contest; last or persevere to the end; to show staying power.
That horse stays well.
Stay
(intransitive) To remain in a particular place, especially for a definite or short period of time; sojourn; abide.
We stayed in Hawaii for a week.
I can only stay for an hour.
Stay
To wait; rest in patience or expectation.
Stay
To wait as an attendant; give ceremonious or submissive attendance.
Stay
To continue to have a particular quality.
Wear gloves so your hands stay warm.
Stay
To live; reside
Hey, where do you stay at?
Stay
To brace or support with a stay or stays
Stay a mast
Stay
To incline forward, aft, or to one side by means of stays.
Stay
To tack; put on the other tack.
To stay ship
Stay
To change; tack; go about; be in stays, as a ship.
Stay
Continuance or a period of time spent in a place; abode for an indefinite time.
I hope you enjoyed your stay in Hawaii.
Stay
(legal) A postponement, especially of an execution or other punishment.
The governor granted a stay of execution.
Stay
(archaic) A stop; a halt; a break or cessation of action, motion, or progress.
Stand at a stay
Stay
A fixed state; fixedness; stability; permanence.
Stay
(nautical) A station or fixed anchorage for vessels.
Stay
Restraint of passion; prudence; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety.
Stay
(obsolete) Hindrance; let; check.
Stay
A prop; a support.
Stay
A piece of stiff material, such as plastic or whalebone, used to stiffen a piece of clothing.
Where are the stays for my collar?
Stay
(in the plural) A corset.
Stay
(archaic) A fastening for a garment; a hook; a clasp; anything to hang another thing on.
Stay
(nautical) A strong rope or wire supporting a mast, and leading from one masthead down to some other, or other part of the vessel.
Stay
A guy, rope, or wire supporting or stabilizing a platform, such as a bridge, a pole, such as a tentpole, the mast of a derrick, or other structural element.
The engineer insisted on using stays for the scaffolding.
Stay
The transverse piece in a chain-cable link.
Stay
Steep; ascending.
Stay
(of a roof) Steeply pitched.
Stay
Difficult to negotiate; not easy to access; sheer.
Stay
Stiff; upright; unbending; reserved; haughty; proud.
Stay
Steeply.
Stay
A large, strong rope, employed to support a mast, by being extended from the head of one mast down to some other, or to some part of the vessel. Those which lead forward are called fore-and-aft stays; those which lead to the vessel's side are called backstays. See Illust. of Ship.
Stay
That which serves as a prop; a support.
Trees serve as so many stays for their vines.
Lord Liverpool is the single stay of this ministry.
Stay
A corset stiffened with whalebone or other material, worn by women, and rarely by men.
How the strait stays the slender waist constrain.
Stay
Continuance in a place; abode for a space of time; sojourn; as, you make a short stay in this city.
Make haste, and leave thy business and thy care;No mortal interest can be worth thy stay.
Embrace the hero and his stay implore.
Stay
Cessation of motion or progression; stand; stop.
Made of sphere metal, never to decayUntil his revolution was at stay.
Affairs of state seemed rather to stand at a stay.
Stay
Hindrance; let; check.
They were able to read good authors without any stay, if the book were not false.
Stay
Restraint of passion; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety.
The wisdom, stay, and moderation of the king.
With prudent stay he long deferredThe rough contention.
Stay
Strictly, a part in tension to hold the parts together, or stiffen them.
Stay
To stop from motion or falling; to prop; to fix firmly; to hold up; to support.
Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side.
Sallows and reeds . . . for vineyards useful foundTo stay thy vines.
Stay
To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time.
He has devoured a whole loaf of bread and butter, and it has not staid his stomach for a minute.
Stay
To bear up under; to endure; to support; to resist successfully.
She will not stay the siege of loving terms,Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes.
Stay
To hold from proceeding; to withhold; to restrain; to stop; to hold.
Him backward overthrew and down him stayedWith their rude hands and grisly grapplement.
All that may stay their minds from thinking that true which they heartily wish were false.
Stay
To hinder; to delay; to detain; to keep back.
Your ships are stayed at Venice.
This business staid me in London almost a week.
I was willing to stay my reader on an argument that appeared to me new.
Stay
To remain for the purpose of; to wait for.
Stay
To cause to cease; to put an end to.
Stay your strife.
For flattering planets seemed to sayThis child should ills of ages stay.
Stay
To fasten or secure with stays; as, to stay a flat sheet in a steam boiler.
Stay
To tack, as a vessel, so that the other side of the vessel shall be presented to the wind.
Stay
To remain; to continue in a place; to abide fixed for a space of time; to stop; to stand still.
She would command the hasty sun to stay.
Stay, I command you; stay and hear me first.
I stay a little longer, as one staysTo cover up the embers that still burn.
Stay
To continue in a state.
The flames augment, and stayAt their full height, then languish to decay.
Stay
To wait; to attend; to forbear to act.
I 'll tell thee all my whole deviceWhen I am in my coach, which stays for us.
The father can not stay any longer for the fortune.
Stay
To dwell; to tarry; to linger.
I must stay a little on one action.
Stay
To rest; to depend; to rely; to stand; to insist.
I stay here on my bond.
Ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon.
Stay
To come to an end; to cease; as, that day the storm stayed.
Here my commission stays.
Stay
To hold out in a race or other contest; as, a horse stays well.
Stay
To change tack, as a ship.
Stay
Continuing or remaining in a place or state;
They had a nice stay in Paris
A lengthy hospital stay
A four-month stay in bankruptcy court
Stay
A judicial order forbidding some action until an event occurs or the order is lifted;
The Supreme Court has the power to stay an injunction pending an appeal to the whole Court
Stay
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
Stay
(nautical) brace consisting of a heavy rope or wire cable used as a support for a mast or spar
Stay
A thin strip of metal or bone that is used to stiffen a garment (e.g. a corset)
Stay
Stay the same; remain in a certain state;
The dress remained wet after repeated attempts to dry it
Rest assured
Stay alone
He remained unmoved by her tears
The bad weather continued for another week
Stay
Stay put (in a certain place);
We are staying in Detroit; we are not moving to Cincinnati
Stay put in the corner here!
Stick around and you will learn something!
Stay
Dwell;
You can stay with me while you are in town
Stay a bit longer--the day is still young
Stay
Continue in a place, position, or situation;
After graduation, she stayed on in Cambridge as a student adviser
Stay with me, please
Despite student protests, he remained Dean for another year
She continued as deputy mayor for another year
Stay
Remain behind;
I had to stay at home and watch the children
Stay
Stop or halt;
Please stay the bloodshed!
Stay
Stay behind;
The smell stayed in the room
The hostility remained long after they made up
Stay
A trial of endurance;
Ride out the storm
Stay
Stop a judicial process;
The judge stayed the execution order
Stay
Fasten with stays
Stay
Overcome or allay;
Quell my hunger
Stay
To continue to be in a specific place.
I decided to stay at home.
Stay
To delay departure.
Can you stay a bit longer?
Stay
To continue to do something.
Stay seated, please.
Stay
To lodge or spend the night.
We stayed at a hotel.
FAQs
Is Remain more passive than Stay?
Yes, "Remain" often implies a more passive state than "Stay."
What does Remain mean?
"Remain" means to continue to exist in a particular condition or place.
Can Remain and Stay be used interchangeably?
They are often used interchangeably, but subtle differences exist.
Is Remain more common in legal language?
Yes, "Remain" is often found in legal and official documents.
Can both Remain and Stay be used in various tenses?
Yes, both verbs can be used in different tenses and constructions.
Does Remain suggest a longer duration than Stay?
"Remain" can imply a more indefinite or permanent condition.
What does Stay mean?
"Stay" means to continue to be in a place or condition by choice.
Is Stay more informal than Remain?
Generally, "Stay" is considered less formal than "Remain."
Are there idiomatic expressions with Stay but not Remain?
Yes, expressions like "stay put" are more idiomatic with "Stay."
Can Stay imply a temporary condition?
Yes, "Stay" often suggests a temporary or short-term state.
Can both words be used as nouns?
"Stay" is more commonly used as a noun than "Remain."
Are there phrasal verbs involving Stay?
Yes, like "stay on" and "stay over," but these are rare with "Remain."
Is Remain always more formal than Stay?
Not always, but it's generally considered more formal.
Is Remain used more in written or spoken English?
"Remain" is commonly used in both but is more formal in written texts.
Is it correct to say "Remain quiet" and "Stay quiet"?
Both are correct, but "Remain quiet" is more formal.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
