1
[ verb ] put an end to a state or an activity

Examples

"Quit teasing your little brother"

Used in print

(Jaroslav Pelikan, The Shape of Death: life, death and...)

But He set a bound to his [ state of ] sin , by interposing death , and thus causing sin to cease , putting an end to it by the dissolution of the flesh , which should take_place in the earth , so_that man , ceasing at_length to live in sin , and dying to it , might live to God '' .

(B. J. D. Meeuse, The Story of Pollination....)

At the old nest , the queen will in the early fall cease to lay the fertilized eggs that will produce females .

(Brand Blanshard, "The Emotive Theory," Robert...)

If it could be shown that judgments of good and bad were not judgments at_all , that they asserted nothing true or false , but merely expressed emotions like `` Hurrah '' or `` Fiddlesticks '' , then these wayward judgments would cease from troubling and weary heads could be at_rest .

2
[ verb ] have end in a certain location; either spatial or metaphorical

Examples

"the bronchioles terminate in a capillary bed" "Your rights stop where you infringe upon the rights of other"

3
[ verb ] have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense

Synonyms

end finish terminate

Examples

: "My property ends by the bushes" "The symphony ends in a pianissimo"

Used in print

(Ross E. McKinney and Howard Edde, "Aerated...)

When the temperature reached 32 ` F all protozoan activity ceased ; but as the temperature rose , the numbers of protozoa increased rapidly .

4
[ verb ] bring to a conclusion or cause to come to an end

Synonyms

terminate end

Examples

"We terminated our relation with the company" "It is unclear whether the bombing of Hiroshima ended the war" "Cease doing what you are doing!"

Used in print

(Jaroslav Pelikan, The Shape of Death: life, death and...)

But He set a bound to his [ state of ] sin , by interposing death , and thus causing sin to cease , putting an end to it by the dissolution of the flesh , which should take_place in the earth , so_that man , ceasing at_length to live in sin , and dying to it , might live to God '' .

5
[ noun ] (`cease' is a noun only in the phrase `without cease') end

Related terms

end discontinue

*