stumped

American  

[stuhmpt] / stʌmpt /

adjective

1. completely at a loss; perplexed or nonplussed.

   The stumped officer could only stare at the strange object, trying to figure out what it might be.

2. reduced to a stump; truncated; lopped.

   Bowser was a small dog with a stumped tail.

   These hills are in fact the stumped remains of mountains millions of years old.

3. Chiefly Southern U.S. stubbed, as one’s toe.

   At the talk, someone in the audience joked, "A stumped toe is all I need as proof that matter is real!"

4. cleared of stumps.

   It was looking more and more impossible to get the recently cleared and stumped field ready for planting by April 26.

5. (of a crayon drawing, pencil rendering, etc.) toned or modified by means of a stump, a blunt-tipped tool made of tightly rolled paper, leather, etc..

   A stumped drawing by Willem de Kooning, almost rubbed out, inspired our interest in the process of reproduction.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of stump.

Other Word Forms

• unstumped adjective

Etymology

Origin of stumped

First recorded in 1595–1605; 1840–45 stumped for def. 3; stump ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; stump ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

The viewing sessions got more serious after Cicero told his friends he went to a trivia night and was stumped by a question on the license plate on Jerry’s Saab convertible.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

But even they may be stumped when faced with the gargantuan challenge of coming up with a deserving story to encapsulate the unique feat of producing 500 episodes of television.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

Rashid had Seifert stumped before Brook twirled through his tweakers - Ahmed having Rachin Ravindra caught mid-wicket in the 12th over.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

The thorny issue of what to do with Russian assets has not only stumped Western leaders but also officials in Berlin who are saddled with three crumbling buildings belonging to Moscow.

From Barron's • Feb. 8, 2026

“And now I’m stumped with the clue I found in The Maltese Falcon. That’s what I thought you could help me with.”

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman