stool pigeon

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See synonyms for stool pigeon on Thesaurus.com

noun

a pigeon used as a decoy.

Also called stool·ie

[stoo-lee], /ˈstu li/, stooly. Slang. a person employed or acting as a decoy or informer, especially for the police.

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Origin of stool pigeon

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30

Words nearby stool pigeon

stooge, stook, stookie, stool, stool ball, stool pigeon, stooly, stoop, stoop ball, stoop labor, stoop to

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stool pigeon in a sentence

He noticed her in the crowd while he was sitting on his stool between rounds.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Furthermore, a person with norovirus has about 70 billion viral particles per gram of stool.
A Doctor Explains Why Cruise Ships Should Be Banned|Kent Sepkowitz|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead she played herself out, pigeon-holing herself into the very kind of characters she criticized Apatow for writing.
It’s Time to Stop Hating Katherine Heigl|Kevin Fallon|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I try to catch the eye of this third boy, but he plops down onto a stool and avoids my gaze.
Magical Gardens for the Blind, Deaf, and Disabled|Elizabeth Picciuto|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Wood pigeon, pheasant, partridge, grouse, peacocks, hares, wild rabbits, and waterfowl are all dietary staples.
Edible Taxidermy: It’s a Good Thing|Lizzie Crocker|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tony's stool was nearer to the bass keys of the piano, while the sofa Lettice lay upon had certainly been drawn up towards him.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
If, now, the patient cough or strain as if at stool, the contents of the stomach will usually be forced out through the tube.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
When bleeding piles are absent, blood-streaks upon such a stool point to carcinoma.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
When the mucus is small in amount and intimately mixed with the stool, the trouble is probably in the small intestine.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
A Gram-positive stool due to cocci is suggestive of intestinal ulceration.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for stool pigeon

stool pigeon

noun

a living or dummy pigeon used to decoy others

an informer for the police; nark

US slang a person acting as a decoy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for stool pigeon

stool pigeon

An informer, especially for the police: “Lefty figured out that Mugsy was the stool pigeon when he saw him talking to the warden.”

Other Idioms and Phrases with stool pigeon

stool pigeon

A decoy or informer, especially a police spy. For example, Watch out for Doug; I'm sure he's a stool pigeon for the supervisor. This term alludes to a bird tied to a stool or similar perch in order to attract other birds, which will then be shot. However, one writer believes that stool is a variant for stale or stall, both nouns used for a decoy bird before 1500 or so. [c. 1820]

stool pigeon

Origin of stool pigeon

Words nearby stool pigeon

Words related to stool pigeon

How to use stool pigeon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stool pigeon

Cultural definitions for stool pigeon

Other Idioms and Phrases with stool pigeon