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

Verb (1)

the seemingly endless parade finally ended, and the drummers and tuba players stumped wearily to their buses

when my grandfather was a kid, he and his friends would stump one another to dive into the local swimming hole

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The stumps of dead Joshua trees jutted from the fetid ground cover, while a few others, still alive, appeared anemic and were adorned in wispy strands of plastic debris and dust. —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2025

The eerie wind stirred the stump holes and swirled embers into the air. —Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025

Verb

Sarah Snook, who won a Tony Award for Best Performance By a Leading Actress in a Play for The Picture of Dorian Gray, is stumped about how it would ever be turned into a film. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 9 June 2025

In fact, the governor did go all over America stumping for the 81-year-old president. —George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2025

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-tailed macaque
• stump up
• stump work

Rhymes for stump

• bump
• chump
• clump
• crump
• dump
• gump
• hump
• jump
• lump
• plump
• pump
• rump

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