Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

terry stop

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.22 in modern English

Syllables
ter-ry stop
IPA
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The brief detention of a person by the police on reasonable suspicion of involvement in criminal activity but short of probable cause to arrest.

American usage

Etymology

From the legal case Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), in which the Supreme Court held that police may briefly detain a person who they reasonably suspect is involved in criminal activity.

Usage

Inflected Forms

Terry stops (plural)

Phrases

Terry search

Frequently Paired Words

Terry search

Questions

What does terry stop mean?
The brief detention of a person by the police on reasonable suspicion of involvement in criminal activity but short of probable cause to arrest.
Where does terry stop come from?
From the legal case Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), in which the Supreme Court held that police may briefly detain a person who they reasonably suspect is involved in criminal activity.

How to pronounce terry stop

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “terry stop”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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  4. Repeat and practice — Say “terry stop” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.