stay at

stay at (something or some place)

1. To remain at some location. Please stay at the train station—I'll come pick you up. Tom's going to stay at the London office and make sure everything keeps running smoothly there.
2. To reside temporarily in some accommodation or lodging. I hate staying at these dingy motels, but it's all I can afford at the moment. They're staying at my sister's apartment while they're in town.
3. To continue trying to do or achieve something, especially after initial failures or setbacks. Often used an imperative, especially in the phrase "stay at it." If you really want to become a comic book artist, you have to stay at it! You can't just give up after your first rejection. I'm really motivated to stay at the writing now that I've had a bit of positive feedback.
See also: stay
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

stay at something

to keep working at something. You should stay at something until you finish it. she couldn't seem to stay at her place of work for a whole day.
See also: stay
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • stay at (something or some place)
  • stay at some place
  • stay clear of
  • stay clear of (someone or something)
  • stay
  • remain at some place
  • keep under cover
  • stay out of the/(one's) way
  • on task
  • fray
References in periodicals archive
Virgin America Elevate Award: double points Expires: 4/20/2010 Restrictions: Earn for every qualifying stay at participating Hilton Hotels & Resorts.
Frequent Flyer & Loyalty Program News
Air China Award: triple miles Expires: 4/30/2010 Restrictions: Stay at Marriott properties and earn triple miles starting with second stay.
Frequent Flyer & Loyalty Program News
Award: up to 8,000 bonus points Expires: 1/31/2010 Restrictions: Stay at a Best Western hotel in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota or Wisconsin and earn 2,000 points per night (maximum of 8,000 points).
Frequent Flyer & Loyalty Program News
Marriott Hotels Award: up to 25,000 bonus points Starts: 1/5/2010 Expires: 4/30/2010 Restrictions: Earn 5,000 bonus points for every other stay at Marriott properties (up to 25,000 points).
Frequent Flyer & Loyalty Program News
Hotel bonuses: Award: double miles Expires: 12/15/2008 Restrictions: Earn double miles beginning with your second stay at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express hotels.
Frequent Flyer & Loyalty Program News
“We recognize that the success of our Stay At Home brand is bound to the success of our owners.
Stay At Home Senior Care Awarded to the Franchise Business Review Top 50
When Hurricane Rita was just a prediction, Jane Ragsdale, camp director of Heart O' The Hills in Hunt, Texas, began receiving calls from camper parents wanting to stay at the camp.
Sanctuary from the storm
She takes us back to the French feminist Simone de Beauvoir's assertion, in a 1976 interview with Betty Friedan, that "no woman should be authorized to stay at home to raise her children ...
The return of the Mommy Wars: is a stay-at-home mom a traitor to feminism?
The EUR11 per person deal is on offer for a midweek stay at the spacious "Forest Oak" accommodation - which can cater for up to seven people - between September 13 and October 15.
TRAVEL IRELAND BreakAway: BARGAIN REAKS
NOZOMU SHINOZAKI'S STAY AT West Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, was meant to be a respite from Japan.
A lonely world: Japan's latest export: jaded students who have few hopes of finding fruitful careers at home
The competition is not on the football fields but over who gets to stay at a ``lucky'' hotel before the game even begins.
Cup battle over lucky hotel
One of the advantages Six Continents Hotels provides is synergy between its brands--including Priority Club Rewards, which rewards travelers who stay at any Six Continents Hotels property.
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts: serving today's global business traveler. (Special Advertising Feature)
The offer is open to business guests who stay at Hilton at any time before April 30, 2001.
Free room at the inn
In fact, professional women enjoy lower blood pressure than women who stay at home.
Blood pressure lower for working women
"I think it behooves the attendee to stay at an on-site hotel," says Diane Johnson, convention sales manager at the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Traveler's gazette: a potpourri of handy travel tips for conventioneers