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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
June 27, CBS News, 27 June 2025
Trump sought to wipe out most TPS enrollment during his first term but was stymied by federal courts.
—Fredlyn Pierre Louis, NBC news, 27 June 2025
President Donald Trump's administration is escalating its battle with the U.S. judiciary over rulings that have stymied his agenda by filing a lawsuit with an unusual set of defendants: The judges themselves.
—Nate Raymond, USA Today, 26 June 2025
While Houthis didn’t target Chinese or Russian flagged vessels, the crisis still stymied trade to China’s detriment.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Stymie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stymie. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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stymie
verb
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