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stoop1

[stoop]
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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.
  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.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to bend (oneself, one's head, etc.) forward and downward.
  2. Archaic. to abase, humble, or subdue.
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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.
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Origin of stoop1

before 900; Middle English stoupen (v.), Old English stūpian; cognate with Middle Dutch stūpen to bend, bow; akin to steep1
Related formsstoop·er, nounstoop·ing·ly, adverbnon·stoop·ing, adjectiveun·stooped, adjectiveun·stoop·ing, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for stoop on Thesaurus.com
1. lean, crouch.

Synonym study

1. See bend1.

stoop2

[stoop]
noun
  1. a small raised platform, approached by steps and sometimes having a roof and seats, at the entrance of a house; a small porch.
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Origin of stoop2

1670–80, Americanism; < Dutch stoep; cognate with Middle Low German stōpe, German Stufe step in a stair. See step

stoop3

[stoop]
noun
  1. stoup.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stoop

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Harriett saw his stoop, and the taut, braced power of his back as he lifted.

  • No fools are they, in fact, even when to that name they 'stoop to conquer.'

  • He showed no interest on seeing K., who had to stoop to enter the low room.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • In order to pass out he was obliged to stoop, so tall was he.

    Rico and Wiseli

    Johanna Spyri

  • I told him I did, and it was because I did and meant to do so to the last, that I would not stoop to propitiate any of them.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for stoop

stoop1

verb (mainly intr)
  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
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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
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Derived Formsstooper, nounstooping, adjectivestoopingly, adverb

Word Origin

Old English stūpan; related to Middle Dutch stupen to bow, Old Norse stūpa, Norwegian stupa to fall; see steep 1

stoop2

noun
  1. US and Canadian a small platform with steps up to it at the entrance to a building
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Word Origin

C18: from Dutch stoep, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German stuofa stair, Old English stōpel footprint; see step

stoop3

noun
  1. archaic a pillar or post
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Word Origin

C15: variant of dialect stulpe, probably from Old Norse stolpe; see stele

stoop4

noun
  1. a less common spelling of stoup
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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

Word Origin and History for stoop

v.

"bend forward," Old English stupian "to bow, bend" (cognate with Middle Dutch stupen "to bow, bend"), from Proto-Germanic *stup-, from PIE *(s)teu- (see steep (adj.)). Figurative sense of "condescend" is from 1570s. Sense of "swoop" is first recorded 1570s in falconry.

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n.

"raised open platform at the door of a house," 1755, American and Canadian, from Dutch stoep "flight of steps, doorstep, stoop," from Middle Dutch, from Proto-Germanic *stopo "step" (see step).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper