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)

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

• stoollike adjective

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

By combining their bacterial catalogue with existing clinical datasets, the team built a model that can identify colorectal cancer using only stool samples.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026

He led her inside to show her a small stool inscribed with the name of his great-granddaughter—another “Cori.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

They’ve also been detected in blood, breast milk and even meconium — an infant’s first stool.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

In January, NHS England announced it would start using a more sensitive home-screening stool kit, bringing it into line with Scotland and Wales.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

She laid her chopsticks across her bowl and rose from her stool to welcome the guest.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu