stump speech

noun

1. a political campaign speech, especially one made on a campaign tour.

Word History and Origins

Origin of stump speech¹

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20

When To Use

What does stump speech come from?

A stump speech is a campaign speech—a speech made to encourage people to vote for a politician.The word stump can refer to a platform for making speeches. This use isn’t common, but this sense of the word is commonly used in a figurative way to refer to the place where political campaign speeches are made, especially in the phrase on the stump, as in The senator went out on the stump to try to win re-election. Stump can also be used as a verb meaning to campaign, as in He’s stumping in Iowa today or He has endorsed the senator and will be stumping for her.The term stump speech most often refers to a speech made on a campaign tour. It most commonly refers to a speech made by the politician who’s campaigning, but it can also refer to a speech made in support of that politician. This person can be called a stumper.Example: He uses the same stump speech at every campaign stop—he just changes the name of the city each time.