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Golf was being played in Scotland as early as the 15th century, but it wasn't until the 19th century that the sport really caught on in England and North America. It was also in the 19th century that the word stymie entered English as a noun referring to a golfing situation in which one player's ball lies between another ball and the hole on the putting green, thereby blocking the line of play. Later, stymie came to be used as a verb meaning "to bring into the position of, or impede by, a stymie." By the early 20th century, the verb was being applied in similarly vexing non-golf contexts.
Examples of stymie in a Sentence
Doug Kyed, Hartford Courant, 5 Jan. 2026
Cole was arrested by federal authorities earlier last month following a massive probe that had stymied investigators for almost five years.
—Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 2 Jan. 2026
The nickel cornerback stymied Ohio State’s first true scoring chance by jumping Brandon Inniss’ route, intercepting a Sayin pass and returning it 72 yards for a touchdown to put Miami up 14-0.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 1 Jan. 2026
On his way out, Adams took several steps to try and stymie Mamdani’s agenda, including by making several appointments this month to the Rent Guidelines Board in an effort to at least temporarily block the incoming mayor’s pledge to freeze rents for the city’s 2 million stabilized tenants.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 1 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stymie
Cite this Entry
“Stymie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stymie. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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stymie
verb
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