stoop

¹ American  

[stoop] / stup /

verb (used without object)

1. to bend the head and shoulders, or the body generally, forward and downward from an erect position.

   to stoop over a desk.

   Synonyms:

   crouch, lean

2. to carry the head and shoulders habitually bowed forward.

   to stoop from age.

3. (of trees, precipices, etc.) to bend, bow, or lean.

4. to descend from one's level of dignity; condescend; deign.

   Don't stoop to argue with him.

5. to swoop down, as a hawk at prey.

6. to submit; yield.

7. Obsolete. to come down from a height.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to bend (oneself, one's head, etc.) forward and downward.

2. Archaic. to abase, humble, or subdue.

noun

1. the act or an instance of stooping.

2. a stooping position or carriage of body.

   The elderly man walked with a stoop.

3. a descent from dignity or superiority.

4. a downward swoop, as of a hawk.

stoop ² American  

[stoop] / stup /

noun

1. a small porch or platform at the entrance to a house, or the steps leading up to it.

---

stoop ³ American  

[stoop] / stup /

noun

1. stoup.

---

stoop ¹ British  

/ stuːp /

verb

1. (also tr) to bend (the body or the top half of the body) forward and downward

2. to carry oneself with head and shoulders habitually bent forward

3. (often foll by to) to abase or degrade oneself

4. (often foll by to) to condescend; deign

5. (of a bird of prey) to swoop down

6. archaic to give in

---

noun

1. the act, position, or characteristic of stooping

2. a lowering from a position of dignity or superiority

3. a downward swoop, esp of a bird of prey

stoop ² British  

/ stuːp /

noun

1. a small platform with steps up to it at the entrance to a building

---

stoop ³ British  

/ stuːp /

noun

1. archaic a pillar or post

---

stoop ⁴ British  

/ stuːp /

noun

1. a less common spelling of stoup

---

Related Words

See bend ¹.

Other Word Forms

• nonstooping adjective
• stooper noun
• stooping adjective
• stoopingly adverb
• unstooped adjective
• unstooping adjective

Etymology

Origin of stoop¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English verb stoupen, stupen, Old English stūpian; cognate with Middle Dutch stūpen “to bend, bow”; akin to steep ¹

Origin of stoop²

An Americanism dating back to 1670–80; from Dutch stoep; cognate with Middle Low German stōpe, German Stufe “step (in a stair)”; step

Example Sentences

My intention is to get in that house, get off the front stoop, bring them into the house, and then I got them.

From Los Angeles Times

Harold’s people, like me, well they could be found daydreaming in cemeteries or sipping coffee on the stoops of abandoned houses.

From Salon

Jeb stooped to pick up a hedge apple and pitched it across the road.

From Literature

My back stooped and bulged; I was bald in all the places you’d want hair and bushy in places you didn’t.

From Literature

As I reach the stooped archway into the pub, I notice a small door tucked into an alcove.

From Literature

Related Words

• crouch
• hunch
• squat