stump

1 of 3

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

2 of 3

verb (2)

stumped; stumping; stumps

transitive verb

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

stumper

3 of 3

noun

stump·​er

ˈstəmpə(r)

plural -s

: one that stumps: such as

a

: one that removes tree stumps

b

: wicketkeeper

c

: a perplexing or difficult question : poser

a real question … a stumper

—Benjamin DeMott

d

: stump speaker

the most indefatigable campaigner and best … stumper

—Hodding Carter

e

: one that adjusts the mandrel on a tube-welding machine

f

: an operator of a felting machine

Synonyms of stump

Verb (1)

• shuffle
• stomp
• stumble
• lump
• slough
• clump
• barge

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

Verb

Tatis’ power outage at age 27 has stumped the baseball world. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2026

Or arrange a bunch of tree stumps around a fire pit to create seating that the kids will love. —Jenny Hughes, The Spruce, 25 May 2026

In an interview, Rabb easily answered the question that had stumped Stanford. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 18 May 2026

Ancient artifacts found beneath Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as one mystery still stumps researchers. —FOXNews.com, 15 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Verb (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 5b

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