stooge

noun \ ˈstüj \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of stooge

1 a : one who plays a subordinate or compliant role to a principal

b : puppet 3

2 : straight man

3 : stool pigeon 1

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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

Detractors have accused Mousa of being a stooge candidate, sanctioned by the regime to give the election a veneer of legitimacy.

— sheena mckenzie, ian lee and sarah el sirgany, CNN, "Egyptian President Sisi wins second term with 97% of vote," 2 Apr. 2018
Back then, Putin cast the mostly urban middle class protesters as Western stooges, part of a spoiled elite at odds with the country’s majority.

— Washington Post, "Russia’s Putin takes his campaign to leading industrial town," 6 Mar. 2018
Competing against hardcore fans like Parzival and Art3mis is an evil corporation called IOI, which is run by a fun-hating capitalist stooge named Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn, doing his usual sneering-villain thing).

— david sims, The Atlantic, "Ready Player One Is a Mile Wide and a Pixel Deep," 29 Mar. 2018
His only rival for the presidency, Mousa Mostafa Mousa, was accused by Sisi's detractors of being a stooge candidate.

— sarah el sirgany, salma abdelaziz and ian lee, CNN, "Egypt's Sisi set to win second term with 90% of vote, state media says," 29 Mar. 2018
Sissi’s only opponent entered the race at the 11th hour, and is widely viewed as a stooge to bring credibility to his rule and prevent the vote from becoming a referendum on his capabilities.

— Washington Post, "In an election with no serious challenger, Egyptians head to the polls to vote for Sissi," 26 Mar. 2018
Outside Republican groups spent more than $10 million — about seven times as much as outside groups spent for Lamb — with much of it attacking Lamb as a stooge for national Democrats, particularly House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

— marc levy, chicagotribune.com, "A week after election, Republican Saccone concedes Pennsylvania U.S. House race to Lamb," 21 Mar. 2018
Outside Republican groups spent more than $10 million — about seven times as much as outside groups spent for Lamb — with much of it attacking Lamb as a stooge for national Democrats, particularly House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

— marc levy, BostonGlobe.com, "Saccone concedes Pennsylvania US House race to Lamb," 21 Mar. 2018
Thankfully for her, Mr Moussa is not a police officer, merely a stooge running for president.

— The Economist, "Ahead of a farcical election, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi goes after the press," 8 Mar. 2018

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

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

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stooge

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stooge

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stooge

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