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PlainSpell

stag

/stæɡ/noun, verb, adverb

stag is spelled S-T-A-G: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, stag means “An adult male deer, especially a red deer and especially one in high adulthood versus a young adult” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of stag is stags.

How many letters and syllables are in stag?

Letters4: S-T-A-G
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.8 times per million words; the 20,906th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is stag?

Stag appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce stag?

  • US /stæɡ/
  • British /staɡ/
  • Australia /stæːɡ/

Stag has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-stag.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with stag?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as stag from its last stressed vowel (/æɡ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: gast.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of stag

  • stags plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • staig
  • stagging participle, present
  • stagged participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does stag mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    An adult male deer, especially a red deer and especially one in high adulthood versus a young adult.

  2. 2

    ScotlandA young horse (colt or filly).

  3. 3

    UKA male turkey: a turkeycock.

  4. 4

    obsoleteA romping girl; a tomboy.

  5. 5

    An improperly or late castrated bull or ram – also called a bull seg (see note under ox).

  6. 6

    An outside irregular dealer in stocks, who is not a member of the exchange.

  7. 7

    One who applies for the allotment of shares in new projects, with a view to sell immediately at a premium, and not to hold the stock.

  8. 8

    An unmarried man; a bachelor; a man not accompanying a woman at a social event.

    a stag dance; a stag party; a stag bar

verb

  1. 1

    UKTo act as a "stag", an irregular dealer in stocks.

  2. 2

    To watch; to dog, or keep track of.

adverb

  1. 1

    Of a man, attending a formal social function without a date.

    My brother went stag to prom because he couldn't find a date.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Stag in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcerf (adult male deer), bœuf (castrated bull)
GermanHirsch, Hirschbock, Rothirsch (adult male deer), Fohlen (colt or filly), wilde Hummel (romping girl), Konzertzeichner (one who applies for shares with a view to sell…)
Portugueseveado adulto (adult male deer), potro, potra, potranca (colt or filly), carriça (Eurasian wren)
Spanishciervo (adult male deer), potro, potra, potranca (colt or filly), rastrear (watch, keep track of)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does stag come from?

From Middle English stagge, steg, from Old English stagga, stacga (“a stag”) and possibly Old Norse steggi, steggr (“a male animal”), both from Proto-Germanic *staggijô, *staggijaz (“male, male deer, porcupine”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *stegʰ-, *stengʰ- (“to sting; rod, blade; sharp, stiff”). Doublet of steg (“gander”). Cognate with Icelandic steggi, steggur (“tomcat, male fox”). Related to staggard, staggon.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after stag