stumped
Americanadjective
-
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.
-
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.
-
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!"
-
cleared of stumps.
It was looking more and more impossible to get the recently cleared and stumped field ready for planting by April 26.
-
(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.
verb
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Stair-climbing has stumped the robotics field for decades, as the activity requires continuous center-of-gravity shifts and visual information processing.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
I recently finished an ice cream in Copenhagen and found myself stumped at the trash bins, wrapper in hand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
That neither pressed on – Duckett was bowled for 67 and Banton stumped for 73, both to left-arm spinner Dinuth Wellalage – was disappointing.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
On this occasion, he tried to wallop the spin of Tharindu Rathnayake over long-on and was stumped by a distance.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
The Greeks were stumped by Achilles’ infinite steps.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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