stool pigeon

noun

Definition of stool pigeonnext
as in informant
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing the FBI finally got a break when one of the mob boss's top henchmen turned stool pigeon

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stool pigeon Once an unconscious stool pigeon, always an unconscious stool pigeon. — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 12 Nov. 2025 Russo turned stool pigeon within a month of his November 2017 arrest for selling a kilo of cocaine to an undercover agent. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2025 They are barred from using certain language during debates including git, guttersnipe, swine and stool pigeon. — Max Colchester, WSJ, 3 Jan. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stool pigeon
  1. informant
  2. informer
  3. canary
  4. rat
  5. reporter
Noun
  • These punteros, as they’re called, have for years worked as low-level informants for the cartel.
    — Kevin Sieff, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The case was expanded to investigate possible tax charges in 2019 under Attorney General Bill Barr, with the focus shifting to the SPLC's bank accounts and its payments to informants.
    — Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of informant
Noun
  • One of State Security’s main goals, as well as a central source of its strength, is turning civilians into informers.
    — Abraham Jiménez Enoa, The Dial, 19 May 2026
  • And so every regime invests in having student informers.
    — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2026
Definition of informer
Noun
  • Interspersed throughout the myriad activations of Monterey Car Week is the most important facet for the collector community, and that’s the array of auctions that serve as either an optimistic barometer reading or an ailing canary in the coal mine.
    — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Kevin Tubbs grew up in a comfortable suburb outside Omaha, Nebraska, in a canary-yellow ranch house filled with dogs.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
Definition of canary
Noun
  • Once the rats are settled into their new homes, the zoo will eventually begin showing the rats at the amphitheater, demonstrating their ability to find scents through maze walls.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • There are still reports of West Nile, Zika and Chikungunya, plus the potential introductions of Chagas and rat lungworm disease.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of rat
Noun
  • And that was in the opening statement — before any reporters asked a question.
    — Jesse Newell, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Associated Press reporter Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, also contributed.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of reporter

Browse Nearby Words

stoolies
stool pigeon
stool pigeons
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stool pigeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stool%20pigeon. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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