stooge

play

noun \ˈstüj\

Definition of stooge

1a : one who plays a subordinate or compliant role to a principalb : puppet 3
2 : straight man
3 : stool pigeon 1

See stooge defined for English-language learners

See stooge defined for kids

Examples of stooge in a Sentence

a gangster and his stooges
He's just a stooge for the oil industry.

Recent Examples of stooge from the Web

Haringhton is a Maduro stooge who has had her assets frozen in the U.S. for her role in jailing innocent protesters.

— john fund, National Review, "A Hero, a Turncoat, and a Trojan Horse Shake Venezuela," 9 July 2017
In the show’s pilot episode Woods’s Jared is Gavin Belson’s unctuous, unknowable assistant, the guy in the Brooks Brothers clothes who’s more of a corporate stooge than anyone else on the Hooli campus.

— vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, "Silicon Valley’s Jared Dunn: The Sweetest, Darkest, and Funniest Character on TV," 22 June 2017
In the show’s pilot episode Woods’s Jared is Gavin Belson’s unctuous, unknowable assistant, the guy in the Brooks Brothers clothes who’s more of a corporate stooge than anyone else on the Hooli campus.

— katey rich, VanityFair.com, "Silicon Valley’s Jared Dunn: The Sweetest, Darkest, and Funniest Character on TV," 22 June 2017
Who would compromise with a Russian stooge or a secret jihadist, after all?

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "Press pause," 14 June 2017
About 100 students were ordered into the main auditorium to watch two short films attacking the opposition leader as both a United States State Department stooge and a would-be Nazi-saluting Hitler.

— neil macfarquhar, New York Times, "Opposition Leader Tests Public Support for Bid to Topple Putin," 9 June 2017
And yet the stooges in movies like Zoolander come in handy as providers of an alternative mother lode of teachable moments.

— jeff gordinier, Esquire, "I Teach My Son Life Lessons with Dumb Comedies," 1 June 2017
Posey knew his guy was auditioning to become the fourth stooge.

— steve rosenbloom, chicagotribune.com, "Dear Stupid (and you know who you are, MLB), here’s your solution to brawls," 31 May 2017
Justin Brill portrays Roxie's long-suffering stooge husband Amos, and E. Faye Butler is Chicago prison matron Mama Morton.

— philip potempa, Post-Tribune, "Drury Lane's 'Chicago' hails days of crime headlines," 24 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stooge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of stooge

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1913

See Words from the same year

Other Performing Arts Terms

diva, dramaturgy, loge, prestidigitation, proscenium, supernumerary, zany

stooge

verb

Definition of stooge

stooged

;

stooging

intransitive verb
: to act as a stooge congressmen who stooge for the oil and mineral interests — New Republic

First Known Use of stooge

1939

STOOGE Defined for English Language Learners

stooge

play

noun

Definition of stooge for English Language Learners

: a weak or unimportant person who is controlled by a powerful person, organization, etc.
: a performer in a show who says and does foolish things that other performers make jokes about