stay
steɪ
The foot that could have left and did not
The picture Something that could have moved does not leave its spot and remains stuck to it. STAY is not leaving the spot; LEAVE is emptying it and walking out.
Where the picture shows up in stay
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not leaving the spot
Stay here until I come back.
steɪ hɪr ənˈtɪl aɪ kʌm bæk
Wait right here until I come back.
A foot half lifts, comes back down, and the person keeps watching the door they went out of
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lodging a few nights
We stayed at a small hotel.
wiː steɪd ət ə smɔːl hoʊˈtel
We put up at a small hotel.
A bag is set down in a room and that room is used like one's own for several days
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a state that does not change
Please stay calm and sit down.
pliːz steɪ kɑːm ənd sɪt daʊn
Keep calm and take a seat.
The room gets loud and a face keeps exactly the colour and breathing it started with
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kept open, unchanged
The store stays open until ten.
ðə stɔːr steɪz ˈoʊpən ənˈtɪl ten
That shop is open until ten.
Every other shopfront goes dark and that one door is still standing open
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remaining behind
I stayed late to finish the report.
aɪ steɪd leɪt tə ˈfɪnɪʃ ðə rɪˈpɔːrt
I worked late to finish the report.
In an emptied office a single desk lamp is still on over one chair
All of it in one picture
Stay is one picture: you could go, and you do not. A foot half lifted and set back down is staying here; a bag set down in a hotel room is staying for a few nights. A face that keeps its colour while the room gets loud is staying calm, and a door that keeps hanging open is a shop staying open. One desk still lit in an emptied office is someone staying late.