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stoop

noun, verb — 13 senses

stoop

noun

UK /stuːp/ · US /stup/

Etymology 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”).

1

A stooping, bent position of the body.

  • The old man walked with a stoop.
  • Theo Walcott's final pass has often drawn criticism but there could be no complaint in the 11th minute when his perfect delivery to the far post only required a stoop and a nod of the head from Young to put England ahead.2011, Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England:
2

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 quarry1819, “Bracebridge Hall”, in Hawking, Washington Irving:
Derived terms
poop stoop, stoop labor, stoopwork, stoopy

stoop

verb

Etymology 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”).

7 senses
  1. 1To bend the upper part of the body forward and downward…
  2. 2To lower oneself; to demean oneself in doing something…
  3. 3Of a bird of prey: to swoop down on its prey.
  4. 4To cause to incline downward; to slant.
  5. 5To cause to submit; to prostrate.
  6. 6To yield; to submit; to bend, as by compulsion; to…
  7. 7To descend from rank or dignity; to condescend.
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.
  • Their walk had continued not more than ten minutes when they crossed a creek by a wooden bridge and came to a row of mean houses standing flush with the street. At the door of one, an old black woman had stooped to lift a large basket, piled high with laundered clothes.1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
1 more example
  • Pedersen took a short corner and El-Hadji Diouf was given time to send in a cross for Mame Diouf to stoop and head home from close range.2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC:
2

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?
3

Of a bird of prey: to swoop down on its prey.

  • the holy eagle Stoop'd, as to foote vs: his Ascension is More sweet then our blest Fields1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv]:
  • Presently the bird stooped and seized a salmon, and a violent struggle ensued.1882, [1875], Thomas Bewick, James Reiveley, William Harvey, The Parlour Menagerie, 4th edition, page 63:
4

To cause to incline downward; to slant.

  • to stoop a cask of liquor
5

To cause to submit; to prostrate.

  • Many of those whose states so tempt thine ears / Are stoopt by death; and many left alive.1614–1615, Homer, “(please specify the book number)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC; republished in The Odysseys of Homer, […], volume (please specify the book number), London: John Russell Smith, […], 1857, →OCLC:
6

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 light1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC:
  • Mighty in her ships stood Carthage long, […] / Yet stooped to Rome, less wealthy, but more strong.1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):
1 more example
  • Theſe, theſe are Arts, my Prince, / In which your Zama does not ſtoop to Rome.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene iv, page 9:
7

To descend from rank or dignity; to condescend.

  • Where men of great wealth do stoop to husbandry, it multiplieth riches exceedingly.1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Riches”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
Synonyms
bend down, crouch, squat
Derived terms
astoop, stoop and roop, stooper, stoopless

stoop

noun

Etymology 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”).

1

A vessel for holding liquids; like a flagon but without the spout.

stoop

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Dutch stoep (“platform", "pavement”). Doublet of stoep. Cognate with step.

1

Architecture Canada, New Jersey, New York, Also The staircase and landing or porch leading to the entrance of a residence.

  • Nearly all the houses were built with their gables to the streets and each had heavy wooden Dutch stoops, with seats, at its door.1856, James Fenimore Cooper, Satanstoe or The Littlepage Manuscripts: A Tale of the Colony, London, page 110:
  • ...the entrance being at the side of the house and reached by a low front stoop with four or five risers...1905 Carpentry and Building, vol. 27 (January 1905), NY: David Williams Company, page 2
1 more example
  • The guard at the door coughed up blood, and died instantly. Fina was carrying an empty rifle with a sharpened bayonet, and she'd thrust it straight up through his neck, severing the spinal cord. She levered him off the front stoop and into the bushes, then stood up on the tips of her toes to peer through the window in the door.2023 October 12, HarryBlank, “Fire in the Hole”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 22 May 2024:
2

Architecture US The threshold of a doorway; a doorstep.

  • 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.1902, Gustav Kobbé, Signora: a child of the opera house, page 15:
  • You better hurry up and get strong, if you going to carry me across the stoop.1975, Laurraine Goreau, Just Mahalia, Baby: The Mahalia Jackson Story, page 248:
2 more examples
  • Holding her breath while she set one foot over the stoop and followed it up into the house1997, Peter S. Feibleman, A place without twilight, page 15:
  • She grins at me and lifts her walker over the stoop.1999, Nora Gallagher, Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith, page 115:
Derived terms
stoopball
Related terms
stoep

stoop

noun

Etymology From Middle English stoupe, stulpe, from Old Norse stólpi (“post, pillar”), from Proto-Germanic *stulpô.

1

Dialectal A post or pillar, especially a gatepost or a support in a mine.

Derived terms
stoup and room

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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