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
  • Owens is a former Republican candidate for state office who became an FBI informant in the HB 6 case.
    — Sara Herschander, Vox, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Sguros was listed as the informant on West’s death certificate, the affidavit said, and several months after the initial death investigation, Sguros was legally authorized to release West’s remains to a cremation service business.
    — Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 29 Oct. 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
  • The double lot includes flat yards, a patio, an infinity lap pool, and a one-bedroom guesthouse accessed by a canary-yellow spiral staircase.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Starkes, accused of leaving a canary in a birdcage outside in 50-degree weather and breaking a window at a nearby funeral home, is also charged with animal cruelty and criminally damaging property, police said.
    — Dennis Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of canary
Noun
  • Jason Ervin, warned that by putting the money toward a second extra pension payment this year, aldermen will force themselves to later make cuts to libraries, violence intervention, tree-trimming and rat abatement.
    — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
  • First, ensure trash bins are tightly sealed and stored a few feet away from your home, since open waste easily attracts mice or rats.
    — Emily Benda Gaylord, The Spruce, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of rat
Noun
  • The governor-elect, speaking to reporters Thursday afternoon inside the state Capitol, had just concluded a meeting with Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro-Tempore Monique Limón.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Former baseball All-Star Mark Teixeira won a congressional seat in Texas, former football coach Tommy Tuberville won the Alabama governor’s race, but former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya lost her Senate race in Minnesota.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Nov. 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 9 Nov. 2026.

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