Collocations for stale - adj.

be, look, seem, smell, taste
The room smelled musty and stale.

become, get (usually figurative), go, grow (figurative), turn
This bread's going stale.
His subject matter has grown stale.

extremely, fairly, very, etc.
a little, slightly, etc.

with
The atmosphere was stale with cigarette smoke.

Stale is used with these nouns:
air, beer, biscuit, bread, loaf, odour, smell, smoke, sweat, tobacco, urine