stump

American  

[stuhmp] / stʌmp /

noun

• stumps
  plural

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)

• stumps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stumped,
  past participle,  past
• stumping
  present participle

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)

• stumps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stumped,
  past participle,  past
• stumping
  present participle

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

Derived Forms

• stumper
  noun
• stumpless
  adjective
• stumplike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stumps
  plural

Participles

• stumping
  present
• stumped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stump
  simple
• stumps
  simple
• have stumped
  perfect
• has stumped
  perfect
• am stumping
  progressive
• are stumping
  progressive
• is stumping
  progressive
• have been stumping
  perfect progressive
• has been stumping
  perfect progressive

Past

• stumped
  simple
• had stumped
  perfect
• was stumping
  progressive
• were stumping
  progressive
• had been stumping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stump
  simple
• will have stumped
  perfect
• will be stumping
  progressive
• will have been stumping
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

stump stumps stumped stumping

But at Hinojosa’s rally in McAllen this month, Ovalle was nodding along with the Democratic candidate, recording clips of her stump speech.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

“They can be a little kid, they can be an old man, I can’t stump you guys as far as casting you in the scene and that’s fun.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Following his confession, Oxford led police beyond a set of railroad tracks, past a church, to a tree stump near the bank of a creek.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Root's specific problem has been against right-arm bowlers, pitching the ball outside off stump and nipping it back towards him.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

Along the side of the house, where Mr. Owner keeps all the broken things like smashed windows and a tired chair with a missing seat, there is an old tree stump.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na

The supply chain bringing matsutake mushrooms from under the tree stumps of southwestern China to its fanciest hotels offers a window into the country’s logistical prowess.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Karvelas was not finished when he was last man out in Sussex's first innings and, taking the new-ball, separated the Essex opening pair with an angled a delivery into Paul Walter's stumps.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Brook adjusted his game to the situation before he was out for 34, superbly caught up to the stumps by wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

It is a problem whether the wicketkeeper is standing up to the stumps or not.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Papa told the preacher, “The stumps all point northeast to southwest. You can hunt coons in those woods at night and never need a compass.”

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Adam Harris Levine stood before the 18th-century painting, completely stumped.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

ChatGPT-style AI is revolutionizing the world of high-level math by quickly solving famous, long-unsolved problems that stumped experts for decades.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

With Jamie Smith up they can't because of the risk of being stumped.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

The 12-year-old drugmaker, more commonly known as RevMed, had spent much of its existence trying to solve a scientific puzzle that had stumped some of the industry’s leading researchers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

He gave me a writing test, a geography test, then laid a bunch of math on me which stumped me.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

After Talarico’s campaign posted footage of the former president stumping with him at a taco shop this spring, the equivalencies flowed in.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

“Thank you, Emily”: Wintour stumping for “The Devil Wears Prada 2” as she and Anne Hathaway continue with the makeup and hairstyling prize.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026

“We call it stumping out—it means that your legs just give out and you collapse,” Rahlves said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026

Falling 2-0 down in the Ashes of the same year was masked by the Jonny Bairstow stumping and fightback to 2-2.

From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2026

Mrs. Corry, dancing lightly in her elastic-sided boots and holding her skirts daintily with her hands, disappeared in the other direction with her huge daughters stumping noisily behind her.

From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers

Related Words

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