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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
John Werner, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
After two games in Denver in which the Golden Knights stymied Colorado’s high-octane transition attack, there was plenty of open ice in the opening 20 minutes.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 25 May 2026
They are stuck in a system that favors big, slow-moving pharmaceutical companies and stymies smaller, more nimble researchers.
—Kevin J. Morrison, Mercury News, 19 May 2026
Jorie’s example has already begun to have an effect, even for children considerably older than her for whom development was stymied by similar genetic deletions.
—Casey Ross, STAT, 19 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for stymie
Cite this Entry
“Stymie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stymie. Accessed 28 May. 2026.
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stymie
verb
