stool

American  

[stool] / stul /

noun

1. a single seat on legs or a pedestal and without arms or a back.

2. a short, low support on which to stand, step, kneel, or rest the feet while sitting.

3. Horticulture. the stump, base, or root of a plant from which propagative organs are produced, as shoots for layering.

4. the base of a plant that annually produces new stems or shoots.

5. a cluster of shoots or stems springing up from such a base or from any root, or a single shoot or layer.

6. a bird fastened to a pole or perch and used as a decoy.

7. an artificial duck or other bird, usually made from wood, used as a decoy by hunters.

8. a privy.

9. the fecal matter evacuated at each movement of the bowels.

10. the sill of a window.

11. a bishop's seat considered as symbolic of his authority; see.

12. the sacred chair of certain African chiefs, symbolic of their kingship.

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verb (used without object)

stools, present (3rd person singular) stooled, past participle, past stooling present participle

1. to put forth shoots from the base or root, as a plant; form a stool.

2. Slang. to turn informer; serve as a stool pigeon.

idioms

1. fall between two stools, to fail, through hesitation or indecision, to select either of two alternatives.

stool British  

/ stuːl /

noun

1. a backless seat or footrest consisting of a small flat piece of wood, etc, resting on three or four legs, a pedestal, etc

2. a rootstock or base of a plant, usually a woody plant, from which shoots, etc, are produced

3. a cluster of shoots growing from such a base

4. a decoy used in hunting

5. waste matter evacuated from the bowels

6. a lavatory seat

7. (in W Africa, esp Ghana) a chief's throne

8. 1. to fail through vacillation between two alternatives

   2. to be in an unsatisfactory situation through not belonging to either of two categories or groups

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verb

1. (of a plant) to send up shoots from the base of the stem, rootstock, etc

2. to lure wildfowl with a decoy

stool More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing stool

• fall between the cracks (two stools)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stoollike
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has stooled
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have stooled
  perfect
• has been stooling
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are stooling
  progressive
• is stooling
  progressive 3rd person singular
• have been stooling
  perfect progressive
• am stooling
  progressive 1st person singular
• stooling
  participle
• stools
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had stooled
  perfect
• was stooling
  progressive singular
• had been stooling
  perfect progressive
• were stooling
  progressive plural
• stooled
  participle
• stooled
  simple

Future

• will stool
  simple
• will have stooled
  perfect
• will be stooling
  progressive
• will have been stooling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of stool

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English stōl; cognate with German Stuhl, Old Norse stōll, Gothic stols “chair”; all are from unattested Germanic stō- (from Indo-European root of stand ) + -l- suffix (unattested); akin to Old Church Slavonic stolŭ “throne”

Example Sentences

People who get a positive stool or blood test should then undergo a colonoscopy.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

I end my visit to Trump Doral sitting on a stool upholstered with burgundy leather and dark oak at Champions Bar and Grill, the central social club on the Trump Doral campus.

From Slate • Jun. 2, 2026

"Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer," former US president Barack Obama reminisced about a meal he shared there with late chef Anthony Bourdain in 2016.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

A post mortem examination found Lois died from a sudden and severe lack of oxygen to her vital organs, likely caused by breathing in her first stool, and the onset of bacterial infection.

From BBC • May 11, 2026

Auntie Matchmaker beamed at the boys and patted their heads before she settled down on my stool between them.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu