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
  • 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
  • Carolina Jessamine This vine with sweet-scented, canary-yellow flowers in the spring is native to the southern United States.
    — Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 9 July 2026
Definition of canary
Noun
  • Sure, Rand Paul has a personal grudge against him, but Paul is crazier than a sh–house rat.
    — Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall said Deniro Laster had broken the conditions of his bond by trying to intimidate witnesses and obstruct justice, including by sending a rat emoji on Instagram to a potential witness.
    — Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 12 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
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Cite this Entry

“Stool pigeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stool%20pigeon. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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