be vs stay

be

verb
  • To exist; to have real existence, to be alive. 

  • Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase. 

  • Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by an adjective. 

  • To occur, to take place. 

  • Used to link a subject to a measurement. 

  • Used to express future action as well as what is due to, intended to, or should happen. 

  • Used to state the age of a subject in years. 

  • Used to form the continuous aspect. 

  • To occupy a place. 

  • Used to indicate that the subject and object are the same. 

  • To exist. 

  • Used to indicate that the values on either side of an equation are the same. 

  • Used to indicate that the subject plays the role of the predicate nominal. 

  • Used to indicate the time of day. 

  • Used to link two noun clauses, the first of which is a day of the week, recurring date, month, or other specific time (on which the event of the main clause took place), and the second of which is a period of time indicating how long ago that day was. 

  • To exist or behave in a certain way. 

  • Elliptical form of "be here", "go to and return from" or similar, also extending to certain other senses of "go". 

  • To tend to do, often do; marks the habitual aspect. 

  • Used to form the passive voice. 

  • Used to form the perfect aspect with certain intransitive verbs; this was more common in archaic use, especially with verbs indicating motion. "He is finished", and "He is gone" are common, but "He is come" is archaic. 

  • Used to indicate that the subject is an instance of the predicate nominal. 

  • Used to indicate passage of time since the occurrence of an event. 

  • Used to indicate weather, air quality, or the like. 

noun
  • The name of the Cyrillic script letter Б / б. 

stay

verb
  • To live; reside 

  • To incline forward, aft, or to one side by means of stays. 

  • To put off; defer; postpone; delay; keep back. 

  • To brace or support with a stay or stays 

  • To remain in a particular place, especially for a definite or short period of time; sojourn; abide. 

  • To stop; detain; keep back; delay; hinder. 

  • To continue to have a particular quality. 

  • To change; tack; go about; be in stays, as a ship. 

  • To hold out, as in a race or contest; last or persevere to the end; to show staying power. 

  • To restrain; withhold; check; stop. 

  • To hold the attention of. 

  • To cause to cease; to put an end to. 

  • To prop; support; sustain; hold up; steady. 

  • To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time. 

  • To tack; put on the other tack. 

adj
  • Steep; ascending. 

  • Difficult to negotiate; not easy to access; sheer. 

  • Stiff; upright; unbending; reserved; haughty; proud. 

  • (of a roof) Steeply pitched. 

adv
  • Steeply. 

noun
  • A guy, rope, or wire supporting or stabilizing a platform, such as a bridge, a pole, such as a tentpole, the mast of a derrick, or other structural element. 

  • Continuance or a period of time spent in a place; abode for an indefinite time. 

  • A piece of stiff material, such as plastic or whalebone, used to stiffen a piece of clothing. 

  • A corset. 

  • Restraint of passion; prudence; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety. 

  • A fixed state; fixedness; stability; permanence. 

  • A strong rope or wire supporting a mast, and leading from one masthead down to some other, or other part of the vessel. 

  • The transverse piece in a chain-cable link. 

  • A prop; a support. 

  • A postponement, especially of an execution or other punishment. 

  • A station or fixed anchorage for vessels. 

How often have the words be and stay occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )