1
a
: one who plays a subordinate or compliant role to a principal
b
2
stooged; stooging
: to act as a stooge
congressmen who stooge for the oil and mineral interests—
New Republic
New RepublicExamples of stooge in a Sentence
Noun
a gangster and his stooges
He's just a stooge for the oil industry.
Recent Examples on the WebChris Klimek, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
But Gromyko believed that Wallace was still valuable as a stooge and might, if used wisely, wreak havoc with American foreign policy—and even help replace the Democratic Party with a pro-Soviet one.
—Benn Steil, Foreign Affairs, 19 Mar. 2024
At the party convention, speaker after speaker denounced Tusk, characterizing him as a German stooge.
—Luke Johnson, The New Republic, 13 Oct. 2023
That’s character in literature: not a stooge in your reverie of fair play and sound politics, but a creature of his time.
—Andrew O’Hagan, The New York Review of Books, 2 Mar. 2023
How to not feel like a needy buzzkill, and how to not make your friends feel like stooges.
—Tom Rasmussen, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2023
There was also a fiendishly complicated mind-reading act based on a memorized system of word clues relayed by the stooge to the sham mentalist.
—Edward Kosner, WSJ, 26 May 2021
In China, Zhang’s letter received hundreds of sharp replies, condemning him as a traitor, a coward and an American stooge, sometimes referencing his youthful blog posts that favorably described American culture and politics.
—Alex W. Palmer, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022
Truss turned out to be a stooge for Boris Johnson, Maureen Dowd writes.
—Ashley Wu, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2022
John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024
Noun
Lynch is nuanced enough to make Frank a memorably self-loathing villain instead of a one-note stooge, which ultimately makes the show more rewarding as a drama than as comedy.
—Chris Klimek, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
But Gromyko believed that Wallace was still valuable as a stooge and might, if used wisely, wreak havoc with American foreign policy—and even help replace the Democratic Party with a pro-Soviet one.
—Benn Steil, Foreign Affairs, 19 Mar. 2024
At the party convention, speaker after speaker denounced Tusk, characterizing him as a German stooge.
—Luke Johnson, The New Republic, 13 Oct. 2023
That’s character in literature: not a stooge in your reverie of fair play and sound politics, but a creature of his time.
—Andrew O’Hagan, The New York Review of Books, 2 Mar. 2023
How to not feel like a needy buzzkill, and how to not make your friends feel like stooges.
—Tom Rasmussen, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2023
There was also a fiendishly complicated mind-reading act based on a memorized system of word clues relayed by the stooge to the sham mentalist.
—Edward Kosner, WSJ, 26 May 2021
In China, Zhang’s letter received hundreds of sharp replies, condemning him as a traitor, a coward and an American stooge, sometimes referencing his youthful blog posts that favorably described American culture and politics.
—Alex W. Palmer, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022
Truss turned out to be a stooge for Boris Johnson, Maureen Dowd writes.
—Ashley Wu, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2022
Verb
The key political takeaway is that the White House is determined to frame the upcoming contest between Biden and Donald Trump as a choice between a Democrat fighting for the American middle class and a Republican stooge for the plutocracy.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stooge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near stooge
Cite this Entry
“Stooge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stooge. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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