What does "stoop" mean?
A stooping, bent position of the body.
Stoop
noun, verb
noun, verb ·1 syllable ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A stooping, bent position of the body.
- Grammar: stoop is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: accommodate, accord, be shamed, belly buster.
- Useful contrasts: carriage, erect posture, integrity.
- Usage evidence: I had to stoop to go into the room.
How to use "stoop"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "stoop" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "stoop" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "stoop" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "stoop" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "stoop" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accommodate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "stoop", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A stooping, bent position of the body.
"The old man walked with a stoop."
- 2 A vessel for holding liquids; like a flagon but without the spout.
- 3 The staircase and landing or porch leading to the entrance of a residence. Canada, New-Jersey, New-York, also
"Nearly all the houses were built with their gables to the streets and each had heavy wooden Dutch stoops, with seats, at its door."
- 4 A post or pillar, especially a gatepost or a support in a mine. dialectal
- 5 an inclination of the top half of the body forward and downward wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 An accelerated descent in flight, as that for an attack.
"At length the hawk got the upper hand, and made a rushing stoop at her quarry"
- 7 The threshold of a doorway; a doorstep. US
"A short flight of iron steps leads up to it and a storm door is built over the stoop, forming a little vestibule, and serving to keep out the gusts."
- 8 small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house wordnet
- 9 basin for holy water wordnet
Verb
- 1 To bend the upper part of the body forward and downward to a half-squatting position; crouch.
"He stooped to tie his shoe-laces."
- 2 carry oneself, often habitually, with head, shoulders, and upper back bent forward wordnet
- 3 To lower oneself; to demean oneself in doing something below one's status, standards, or morals.
"Can you believe that a salesman would stoop so low as to hide his customers' car keys until they agreed to the purchase?"
- 4 sag, bend, bend over or down wordnet
- 5 Of a bird of prey: to swoop down on its prey. intransitive
"the holy eagle Stoop'd, as to foote vs: his Ascension is More sweet then our blest Fields"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 bend one's back forward from the waist on down wordnet
- 7 To cause to incline downward; to slant. transitive
"to stoop a cask of liquor"
- 8 descend swiftly, as if on prey wordnet
- 9 To cause to submit; to prostrate. transitive
"Many of those whose states so tempt thine ears / Are stoopt by death; and many left alive."
- 10 debase oneself morally, act in an undignified, unworthy, or dishonorable way wordnet
- 11 To yield; to submit; to bend, as by compulsion; to assume a position of humility or subjection.
"The grasse stoops not, she treads on it so light"
- 12 To descend from rank or dignity; to condescend.
"Where men of great wealth do stoop to husbandry, it multiplieth riches exceedingly."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"I had to stoop to go into the room."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "stoop"?
Common synonyms include: accommodate, accord, be shamed, belly buster, belly flop, belly whopper.
How do you use "stoop" in a sentence?
I had to stoop to go into the room.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English stoupen, from Old English stūpian (“to bow, bend”), from Proto-West Germanic *stūpōn, from Proto-Germanic *stūpōną, *stūpijaną (“to stand out”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewb- (“to push, butt, knock”). Compare steep. Cognate with Dutch stuipen (“to bend the upper part of the body forward and downward”), Old Norse stúpa (“to stoop”). Related also to Old Frisian stēpa (“to help”), Old Norse steypa (“to cause to stoop, cast down, overthrow”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English stope, stoupe, from Old Norse staup (“dip, well, cup”), from Proto-Germanic *staupą, related to the verb *staupijaną (“to steep”). Related to Old English stēap (“drinking vessel, cup, flagon, stoop”).
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Dutch stoep (“platform", "pavement”). Doublet of stoep. Cognate with step.
Etymology 4
From Middle English stoupe, stulpe, from Old Norse stólpi (“post, pillar”), from Proto-Germanic *stulpô.