stymie
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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a situation or problem presenting such difficulties as to discourage or defeat any attempt to deal with or resolve it.
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Golf. (on a putting green) an instance of a ball's lying on a direct line between the cup and the ball of an opponent about to putt.
verb
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to hinder or thwart
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golf to impede with a stymie
noun
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golf (formerly) a situation on the green in which an opponent's ball is blocking the line between the hole and the ball about to be played: an obstructing ball may now be lifted and replaced by a marker
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a situation of obstruction
Etymology
Origin of stymie
First recorded in 1855–60; origin uncertain
Explanation
The verb stymie means "to obstruct or hinder." Constantly texting with your friends will stymie your effort to finish your homework. Stymie was first used on the golf course in Scotland, where it referred to an opponent's ball blocking your own ball’s path to the cup. From there a verb sense developed, until finally stymie came to mean blocking with any obstacle, not just a golf ball.
Vocabulary lists containing stymie
Hatchet
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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.
The gold lettering on the front of the building was a slab-serif font titled Stymie Extra Bold.
From Washington Post • Sep. 15, 2020
I guess that makes me Stymie, but that's cool.
From Slate • Jan. 28, 2012
At the three-quarter pole, Assault was 17 lengths behind the pace-setting Natchez, who liked the sloppy going, and Stymie was five lengths behind Assault.
From Time Magazine Archive
Just to be safe, for six-year-old Stymie was beginning to move up, Arcaro stung Assault's hide once with the whip.
From Time Magazine Archive
Stymie, stī′mi, n. in golf, a position on the putting-green when the ball of one player lies between that of his opponent and the hole.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
