stoop
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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stoops,
present (3rd person singular)
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stooped,
past participle, past
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stooping
present participle
-
to bend the head and shoulders, or the body generally, forward and downward from an erect position.
to stoop over a desk.
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to carry the head and shoulders habitually bowed forward.
to stoop from age.
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(of trees, precipices, etc.) to bend, bow, or lean.
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to descend from one's level of dignity; condescend; deign.
Don't stoop to argue with him.
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to swoop down, as a hawk at prey.
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to submit; yield.
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Obsolete. to come down from a height.
verb (used with object)
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stoops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stooped,
past participle, past
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stooping
present participle
-
to bend (oneself, one's head, etc.) forward and downward.
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Archaic. to abase, humble, or subdue.
noun
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the act or an instance of stooping.
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a stooping position or carriage of body.
The elderly man walked with a stoop.
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a descent from dignity or superiority.
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a downward swoop, as of a hawk.
noun
noun
verb
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(also tr) to bend (the body or the top half of the body) forward and downward
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to carry oneself with head and shoulders habitually bent forward
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(often foll by to) to abase or degrade oneself
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(often foll by to) to condescend; deign
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(of a bird of prey) to swoop down
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archaic to give in
noun
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the act, position, or characteristic of stooping
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a lowering from a position of dignity or superiority
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a downward swoop, esp of a bird of prey
noun
noun
noun
Synonym Usage
See bend 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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stoopernoun
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nonstoopingadjective
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stoopingadjective
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unstoopedadjective
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unstoopingadjective
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stoopinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stoopsimple
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stoopssimple
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have stoopedperfect
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has stoopedperfect
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am stoopingprogressive
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are stoopingprogressive
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is stoopingprogressive
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have been stoopingperfect progressive
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has been stoopingperfect progressive
Past
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stoopedsimple
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had stoopedperfect
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was stoopingprogressive
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were stoopingprogressive
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had been stoopingperfect progressive
Future
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)”; see step
Explanation
Stoop means to lean your head and torso forward and down. If you're six feet tall and you tour a historical building, you'll have to stoop to get through the low doorways. Stoop comes from the same root as steep. You can stoop to clear a doorway, or stoop metaphorically, by lowering your morals. If you slouch and droop, you are stooping. When owls quickly descend on their prey, that's also called stooping. Last but not least, a stoop refers to a small porch or the stairs leading up to a front entrance of a house, but that meaning is from the Dutch word stoep, "flight of steps, doorstep, or threshold."
Vocabulary lists containing stoop
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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.
See Examples For:
"I don't like to be like everybody else. I've often made the statement that I would never stoop so low as to be fashionable. That's the easiest thing in the world to do."
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Hou said they found the noodle package sitting on the stoop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
We occasionally throw stoop parties that draw neighbors and strangers—a “free beer” sign and lawn chairs in our driveway won us new friends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
Some variations that excite me: Tuesday tea on the stoop.
From Salon ● Jan. 27, 2026
One of the pictures is of me and her outside on the stoop.
From "Miracle's Boys" by Jacqueline Woodson
She stoops to blackmail to force Nana to steal Ericka’s file from the headmistress’s office in the hope of unearthing some damning or disqualifying revelation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Participating artists not only play on porches and front stoops in the Mission District but also in backyards, parklets, storefronts and district venues.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
When they headed south from Roberta’s apartment on Avenue C around 10, there were two-foot drifts against the side of stoops.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024
And he drove me a mile down the road to some apartment buildings where people were outside, sitting on stoops, smoking cigarettes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
Lourdes prefers to confront reality—the brownstones converted to tenements in a matter of months, the garbage in the streets, the jaundice-eyed men staring vacantly from the stoops.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Then he disappeared into the nearby stand of trees and stooped down, pretending to relieve himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Ibrahim Said stooped to head in his first goal for the club before Elliott Watt capitalised on a mistake from Kasper Schmeichel.
From Barron's ● Dec. 30, 2025
The name "chikungunya" comes from the Kimakonde language, meaning "that which bends up," a reference to the stooped posture caused by the severe joint pain that often accompanies the infection.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2025
I stooped to embrace him and told him what I’d needed to hear as a boy.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2025
Before we could stop him, the older man was stooped over holding onto the front door window, looking into the backseat of our car.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
About 40% of people in their 60s have some difficulty crouching, kneeling or stooping.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
“It’s a cat on a leash!” an unfamiliar neighbor exclaimed recently, stooping to pet him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
DNA is a snooty aristocrat, never stooping to engage in day-to-day tasks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
He was stooping as he leant on the front desk.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2024
When he was a few feet away, he stood, stooping over his staff, with his head thrust forward, peering at them from under his hood.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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