English · Idiom Candidate

stay the course

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To continue with a plan or action despite difficulties or challenges.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Tiếp tục với kế hoạch hoặc hành động dù gặp khó khăn hoặc thách thức

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: remain on the path

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

Unlike the Great Recession of 2008 - 2009, today there is widespread hope that America has the capacity to stay the course and provide a backstop for the rest of the world in the midst of the euro crisis.

Made for the Stuttgart Ballet in 1956, the ballet has stayed the course because of its tight construction and the meaty roles it offers.

British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “stay the course” mean?

To continue with a plan or action despite difficulties or challenges. Literally: remain on the path

Is “stay the course” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time