stump

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈstəmp 

1

a

: the basal portion of a bodily part remaining after the rest is removed

b

: a rudimentary or vestigial bodily part

2

: the part of a plant and especially a tree remaining attached to the root after the trunk is cut

3

: a remaining part : stub

4

: one of the pointed rods stuck in the ground to form a cricket wicket

5

: a place or occasion for public speaking (as for a cause or candidate)

also : the circuit followed by a maker of such speeches

—used especially in the phrase on the stump

stump

2 of 4

verb (1)

stumped; stumping; stumps

transitive verb

1

: to reduce to a stump : trim

2

a

: dare, challenge

b

: to frustrate the progress or efforts of : baffle

3

: to clear (land) of stumps

4

: to travel over (a region) making political speeches or supporting a cause

5

a

: to walk over heavily or clumsily

b

: stub sense 3

intransitive verb

1

: to walk heavily or clumsily

2

: to go about making political speeches or supporting a cause

stumper noun

stump

3 of 4

noun (2)

: a short thick roll of leather, felt, or paper usually pointed at both ends and used for shading or blending a drawing in crayon, pencil, charcoal, pastel, or chalk

stump

4 of 4

verb (2)

stumped; stumping; stumps

transitive verb

: to tone or treat (a drawing) with a stump

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• barge
• clump
• flog [British]
• flounder
• galumph
• lumber
• lump
• plod
• pound
• scuff
• scuffle
• shamble
• shuffle
• slog
• slough
• stamp
• stomp
• stumble
• tramp
• tromp
• trudge

Examples of stump in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

At the edge of Sheridan Circle in Northwest Washington sits a tree stump crowned with an engraved stone disk. —Pamela Constable, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2023

The ornate tower is almost entirely gone – just one bare stump of bricks sticking out of the rubble. —Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 10 Sep. 2023

If the stump is 2 feet or more in diameter, clear a space that is 2- to 3-feet away from the stump. —Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2023

The 16-year-old victim, who was from Hazel Green, was driving a 2012 Ford Fusion that left the roadway and struck a tree stump. —Lawrence Specker | [e-mail], al, 6 Aug. 2023

That may be changing, as instead of standing with Sequoia-like titans like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, the Trump sapling is being cut into a stump. —Philip Elliott, Time, 1 Aug. 2023

Here’s what this looks like in pruning away the stump of a branch torn off from a winter storm. —Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 17 July 2023

On each end of the pitch is a wicket, a set of three stumps and two bails. —Peter Rauterkus, Dallas News, 12 July 2023

In the middle of the state seal, a farmer plows a field, his rifle propped on a nearby tree stump. —Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Aug. 2023

Verb

Even the great late physicist John Wheeler, who coined the term black hole for a thing made only of spacetime, was stumped by time itself. —WIRED, 27 Sep. 2023

Former President Donald Trump is stumping in the Detroit suburbs Wednesday night, while the Republicans trying to mount a challenge to his frontrunner status participate in the second GOP presidential debate in Simi Valley, California. —Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 27 Sep. 2023

Before this week, other Republican rivals had heavily stumped in Iowa, hoping their ground game could lift them to a win. —Mabinty Quarshie, Washington Examiner, 20 Sep. 2023

Still, they are stumped with finding a perfect wedding location that highlights the transitional beauty of the season. —Dominique Fluker, Essence, 19 Sep. 2023

And Tim Scott stumps in the Hawkeye State, while Mike Pence delivers a speech on China in DC. —Mark Murray, NBC News, 18 Sep. 2023

Regardless of who first thought about them, until recently, researchers were stumped by one seemingly easy question about Möbius bands: What is the shortest strip of paper needed to make one? —Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 12 Sep. 2023

The development came after decades in which police were stumped by the stabbing and slashing death, which left the couple’s 2-year-old wandering alone in the house in West Springfield, Va., for days the weekend before Thanksgiving in 1994. —Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2023

Water-based setting powders are the latest makeup innovation stumping TikTok. —Devon Abelman, Allure, 31 Aug. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English stumpe; akin to Old High German stumpf stump and perhaps to Middle English stampen to stamp

Noun (2)

French or Dutch dialect; French estompe, from Dutch dialect stomp, literally, stub, from Middle Dutch; akin to Old High German stumpf stump

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

1581, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1778, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1807, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing stump

• on the stump
• stump speech
• stump up
• stump-tailed macaque
• stump work

• on the stump
• stump speech
• stump up
• stump-tailed macaque
• stump work

Kids Definition

stump

1 of 2 noun

ˈstəmp 

1

: the base of a bodily part (as an arm or leg) remaining after the rest is removed

2

: the part of a plant and especially a tree remaining attached to the root after the top is cut off

3

: a part (as of a pencil) remaining after the rest is worn away or lost : stub

4

: a place or occasion for political public speaking

stump

2 of 2 verb

1

a

: challenge entry 1 sense 3

b

: perplex sense 1, confound

2

a

: to walk or walk over heavily or clumsily

b

: stub entry 2 sense 2

3

: to go about making political speeches

stump the state for a candidate

stumper noun

Etymology

Verb

probably an altered form of earlier stump (noun) "a challenge"

Medical Definition

stump

noun

ˈstəmp 

1

: the basal portion of a bodily part (as a limb) remaining after the rest is removed

2

: a rudimentary or vestigial bodily part