stooge

1 of 2

noun

ˈstüj 

1

a

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

a gangster and his stooges

b

: puppet sense 3

just a stooge for the pharmaceutical industry

2

: straight man

3

: stool pigeon sense 1

stooge

2 of 2

verb

stooged; stooging

intransitive verb

: to act as a stooge

… Congressmen who stooge for the oil and mineral interests …

—New Republic

Examples of stooge in a Sentence

Noun

a gangster and his stooges

He's just a stooge for the oil industry.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Revolution’s language of Islamist class struggle fixated on Iran’s recent kings as stooges of Western imperialism. —Azadeh Moaveni, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026

He-Man is assisted by a ragtag assortment of toy-friendly sidekicks known as the Heroic Warriors; Skeletor's stooges are the similarly imaginatively titled the Evil Warriors. —Richard Edwards, Space.com, 3 Mar. 2026

Verb

The leaders who come next could turn out to be equally repressive or seen domestically as an illegitimate U.S. stooge. —Tim Sullivan, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026

Flynn, who is consistently ignored by Wu and her stooges on the council, will no doubt find his ordinance filed to some obscure committee and left to die. —Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 19 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

1913, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1939, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stooge

• huge
• kluge
• scrooge
• centrifuge
• febrifuge
• subterfuge
• ultracentrifuge

Kids Definition

stooge

noun

ˈstüj

1

: one who follows or serves another without thinking

2

: an actor who usually by asking questions prepares the way for a principal comedian's jokes

stooge verb