【Reside】 , 【live】 ,  【dwell】 ,  【sojourn】 ,  【lodge】 ,  【stay】 ,  【put up】 ,  【stop】  can all mean to abide in a particular place as one’s habitation or domicile.

【Reside】  and  【live】  express this idea, often without further implications. Usually, however, when the term is intended to suggest the fixed, settled, or legal abode of a person or group such as a family,  【reside】  is the more appropriate word; when the idea to be emphasized is the spending of one’s time in a given place and the carrying on of the normal activities of one’s way of life,  【live】 is more explicit.

When the reference is not to persons but to things,  【reside】 is the term to be used when the thing referred to is a quality, an element, or a condition.

When the thing is something concrete and the idea of making one’s abode or home is suggested,  【live】 may be used.

【Dwell】 is a close synonym of these words, but it is more frequently found in elevated language. In extended use  【dwell】 carries a stronger implication of abiding (as in thought or in spirit).

【Sojourn】 differs from the preceding terms in usually implying a temporary habitation or abode or a more or less uncertain place or way of living.

【Lodge】  (see also HARBOR ) also implies an abode for a time or for the time being; it typically also implies having restricted accommodations (as in a hotel or rooming house) often without meals.

【Stay】  is the term commonly used in language in place of  【sojourn】  and often of  【lodge】 .

【Put up】  is also a common equivalent for  【lodge】 and usually suggests the status of a guest either in a hotel or in a private home.

【Stop】 , which is often used in the sense of  【stay】 , often specifically implies the breaking of a trip or journey by a short 【stay】 .