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
Relevance
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
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
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
Noun
-
After planting the seeds of a murder-for-hire plot, Kimball reported to the FBI that Ennis was planning to have witnesses killed, and shortly thereafter, was granted confidential informant status.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
28 Sep. 2025
-
The animosity between the two boiled over when suspicions grew among the Joneses that Brandon was Marty Baker’s secret informant, after a Skeet associate spotted Brandon and Baker having lunch together in Mentone.—
Mitch Moxley,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Frizer and Skeres were fraudsters, and the sinister Poley was an informer, crucial to the exposure of the Babington Plot.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Option 2: If one prisoner informs while the other stays silent, the informer will go free while the silent one receives the harshest sentence.—
Michael Ashley,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
Noun
-
Finally, initial jobless claims will be out Thursday morning, and the market will be looking for additional confirmation that the spike two weeks ago more of an anomaly than a canary in the coal mine.—
Kevin Stankiewicz,
CNBC,
21 Sep. 2025
-
The insurance crisis is the canary in the coal mine for the climate crisis, and the canary is dying.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
While there isn’t a statewide law that explicitly addresses rat running, the practice can be considered a violation of existing traffic laws requiring drivers to obey traffic signs and signals, Trooper Christopher Casey with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol told The Charlotte Observer.—
Tanasia Kenney,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Surprisingly eloquent, Hawk compared finalists Richard Hatch and Kelly Wiglesworth to snakes and rats, respectively.—
Steve Helling,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The changes follow the announcement earlier this week that crew members would be required to submit deep throat saliva samples at Hong Kong International Airport.—
Julia Horowitz,
CNN,
9 July 2020
-
The airlines dropped flights to the city after Hong Kong’s health authority mandated new deep throat testing and quarantine rules for anyone flying there, including possible mandatory hospitalization for anyone that tests positive for COVID-19.—
Dallas News,
Dallas News,
9 July 2020
Noun
-
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the opener, Prince on Friday took responsibility for the late substitutions that contributed to two damaging delay of game penalties late in the Week 2 loss against the Patriots.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
-
And in that present, Fugazi’s drummer, a scholar of caste, and a border reporter are no longer distant figures.—
Javier Garcia del Moral
September 26,
Literary Hub,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stool pigeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stool%20pigeon. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share