Did you know?
Golf was being played in Scotland as early as the 15th century, but it wasn't until the 19th century that the sport really caught on in England and North America. It was also in the 19th century that the word stymie entered English as a noun referring to a golfing situation in which one player's ball lies between another ball and the hole on the putting green, thereby blocking the line of play. Later, stymie came to be used as a verb meaning "to bring into the position of, or impede by, a stymie." By the early 20th century, the verb was being applied in similarly vexing non-golf contexts.
Examples of stymie in a Sentence
Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025
The gloves-are-off message comes as Texas Democrats on Sunday fled their state and fanned out to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts to at least temporarily stymie an effort by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Republicans to redraw Texas’ congressional map at the behest of President Donald Trump.
—Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025
Meteorologists said there was a low probability for interference from cumulus clouds, but that proved to be enough to stymie a launch attempt.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2025
Still, Republicans take issue with Democrats stepping up to stymie a nominee like Clayton, who received bipartisan support when he was confirmed to lead Trump’s first-term SEC.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stymie
Cite this Entry
“Stymie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stymie. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
stymie
verb
Share