stumped

American  

[stuhmpt] / stʌmpt /

adjective

1. completely at a loss; perplexed or nonplussed.

   The stumped officer could only stare at the strange object, trying to figure out what it might be.

2. reduced to a stump; truncated; lopped.

   Bowser was a small dog with a stumped tail.

   These hills are in fact the stumped remains of mountains millions of years old.

3. Chiefly Southern U.S. stubbed, as one’s toe.

   At the talk, someone in the audience joked, "A stumped toe is all I need as proof that matter is real!"

4. cleared of stumps.

   It was looking more and more impossible to get the recently cleared and stumped field ready for planting by April 26.

5. (of a crayon drawing, pencil rendering, etc.) toned or modified by means of a stump, a blunt-tipped tool made of tightly rolled paper, leather, etc..

   A stumped drawing by Willem de Kooning, almost rubbed out, inspired our interest in the process of reproduction.

---

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of stump.

Other Word Forms

• unstumped adjective

Etymology

Origin of stumped

First recorded in 1595–1605; 1840–45 stumped for def. 3; stump ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; stump ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

The trading action in Phreesia has stumped many observers, serving as a reminder to the highly volatile world of small-cap technology.

From Barron's

With the pitch deteriorating, Lyon unleashed another trademark delivery to bowl Stokes, then tempted Crawley down the wicket to be stumped by Carey, leaving England's Ashes campaign in tatters.

From Barron's

One question—whether to check or take a call during a meeting—stumped him.

From The Wall Street Journal

My mom just gifted me $10,000 and I’m stumped about my next move.

From MarketWatch

The 34-year-old almost stumped Harry Brook when the England batter missed an attempted scoop, while on another occasion up to the stumps, Carey gathered a bouncer one-handed above his head.

From BBC