stump

American  

[stuhmp] / stʌmp /

noun

1. the lower end of a tree or plant left after the main part falls or is cut off; a standing tree trunk from which the upper part and branches have been removed.

2. the part of a limb of the body remaining after the rest has been cut off.

3. a part of a broken or decayed tooth left in the gum.

4. a short remnant, as of a candle; stub.

5. any basal part remaining after the main or more important part has been removed.

6. an artificial leg.

7. Informal. Usually stumps. legs.

   Stir your stumps and get out of here.

8. a short, stocky person.

9. a heavy step or uneven gait.

10. the figurative place of political speechmaking.

    to go on the stump.

11. Furniture. a support for the front end of the arm of a chair, sofa, etc.

12. a short, thick roll of paper, soft leather, or some similar material, usually having a blunt point, for rubbing a pencil, charcoal, or crayon drawing in order to achieve subtle gradations of tone in representing light and shade.

13. Cricket. each of the three upright sticks that, with the two bails laid on top of them, form a wicket.

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verb (used with object)

1. to reduce to a stump; truncate; lop.

2. to clear of stumps, as land.

3. Chiefly Southern U.S. to stub, as one's toe.

4. to nonplus, embarrass, or render completely at a loss.

   This riddle stumps me.

5. to challenge or dare to do something.

6. to make political campaign speeches to or in.

   to stump a state.

7. Cricket. (of the wicketkeeper) to put (a batsman) out by knocking down a stump or by dislodging a bail with the ball held in the hand at a moment when the batsman is off his ground.

8. to tone or modify (a crayon drawing, pencil rendering, etc.) by means of a stump.

verb (used without object)

1. to walk heavily or clumsily, as if with a wooden leg.

   The captain stumped across the deck.

2. to make political campaign speeches; electioneer.

idioms

1. up a stump, at a loss; embarrassed; perplexed.

   Sociologists are up a stump over the sharp rise in juvenile delinquency and crime.

stump British  

/ stʌmp /

noun

1. the base part of a tree trunk left standing after the tree has been felled or has fallen

2. the part of something, such as a tooth, limb, or blade, that remains after a larger part has been removed

3. informal

   1. (often plural) a leg

   2. to move or become active

4. cricket any of three upright wooden sticks that, with two bails laid across them, form a wicket (the stumps )

5. Also called: tortillon.  a short sharply-pointed stick of cork or rolled paper or leather, used in drawing and shading

6. a heavy tread or the sound of heavy footsteps

7. a platform used by an orator when addressing a meeting

8. (often plural) a pile used to support a house

9. engaged in campaigning, esp by political speech-making

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verb

1. (tr) to stop, confuse, or puzzle

2. (intr) to plod or trudge heavily

3. (tr) cricket (of a fielder, esp a wicketkeeper) to dismiss (a batsman) by breaking his wicket with the ball or with the ball in the hand while he is out of his crease

4. to campaign or canvass (an area), esp by political speech-making

5. (tr) to reduce to a stump; lop

6. (tr) to clear (land) of stumps

Usage

What does stump mean? A stump is the base of a tree after the rest of the trunk has been cut down. In general, stump can refer to what’s left of something after the main part or majority of it has been cut off or removed. The word stub means the same thing and is perhaps more commonly used. When a person has had part of a limb removed, the remaining part is sometimes called a stump. A more technical term is residual limb. The word stump is also sometimes used to refer to a limb that has not fully developed. Though some people with limb differences may use the word stump to refer to their limb, others might find the word insensitive or offensive. In many cases, they may prefer for it to simply be called an arm, leg, or limb. An artificial leg can also sometimes be called a stump. The word stumps is sometimes used as a slang term for the legs. The word stump can refer to a platform for making speeches. This use isn’t common, but this sense of the word is commonly used in a figurative way to refer to the place where political campaign speeches are made, especially in the phrase on the stump, as in The senator went out on the stump to try to win re-election. A campaign speech can be called a stump speech. Stump can also be used as a verb meaning to campaign, as in He’s stumping in Iowa today or He has endorsed the senator and will be stumping for her. As a verb, stump can also mean to confuse, puzzle, or perplex completely, as in The last question on the test really stumped me. When you are stumped in this way, you are usually at a loss—you don’t know the right answer and you might not even have a guess. Someone who is experiencing this puzzlement can be described as stumped. A question or problem that stumps can be called a stumper. Example: The woodcutters chopped down all of the trees, leaving nothing but a field of stumps.

Other Word Forms

• stumper
  noun
• stumpless
  adjective
• stumplike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of stump

1200–50; (noun) Middle English stompe, cognate with or < Middle Low German stump ( e ), Middle Dutch stomp (compare German Stumpf ); (v.) Middle English stumpen to stumble (as over a stump), derivative of the noun

Explanation

There are three ways to stump: you can ask someone a question they can't answer, you can travel making political speeches, or you can stomp. Stump can mean many things as a verb. The most common use is when someone — like a teacher — asks a question that no one can answer. That's a case of the teacher stumping the class. Also, politicians traveling through a district, making speeches are stumping, giving what are called stump speeches. Once in a while, to stump means the same thing as two similar words, stomp and stamp. If you're stumping, stomping, and stamping around, you're making a lot of noise with your feet.

Example Sentences

In the other direction lay spending the money on completing a slowed down, stump of a line, that would only connect west London with Birmingham by the late 2030s.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

As I recall the story, Homer grilled Leibowitz, trying to stump him with math questions.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

When I asked him about that, he talked about that tension as impossible to resolve, especially not in a minutes-long stump speech.

From Slate • Apr. 29, 2026

"We have jobs, but we don't make anything," he added, as he took an axe to a tree stump in a neighbouring plot.

From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026

It would soon be dark and she could keep her rendezvous with the mouse Abbot at the old stump.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Related Words

• baffle
• confound
• dumbfound
• mystify
• perplex
• puzzle