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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
  • Shea was attacked because Manson told his followers the man was a police informant and attempting to kick them off the ranch.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Diiorio tried to pay a confidential informant to kill her ex-boyfriend, a Philadelphia police officer, and his then 19-year-old daughter, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey first reported in April 2025.
    — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 11 Sep. 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
  • She’s made room for dozens of pets over the years, ranging from fluffy Chow Chows and Frenchies (her favorite breeds) to canaries, chinchillas, and beautifully fluffy cats.
    — Wendy Rose Gould, Martha Stewart, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Dollywood thus became our Disneyland — from the Tennessee Tornado to the Wild Eagle to the Mystery Mine with the dead canary collapsing before the big drop.
    — Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of canary
Noun
  • When rats reach that second level, city officials need some answer, any answer, to their rat problem.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Alas, poor Bryan is about to learn the hard way that change — as the saying goes — is as hard to outrun as an ever-growing zombie rat king with 37 different limbs and a weirdly personal vendetta.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of rat
Noun
  • Taylor Rooks provides features with the game’s brightest stars, and NFL reporter James Palmer delivers news from around the league.
    — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Rios was not charged in connection with the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of a pilot, an NBC4 reporter and a bystander.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 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 23 Sep. 2026.

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