I. ˈstüp verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English stupen, stoupen, from Old English stūpian; akin to Middle Dutch stupen to bow, bend, Old Norse stūpa to stand upright, to tower, Norwegian stupa to fall down, plunge, Old English stēap high, steep, deep — more at steep
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to bend the body forward and downward sometimes simultaneously bending the knees : lean
the figures stooped and rose with the lifting whips — Mary Austin
he stooped cowering to the ground — Pearl Buck
he stooped over his labor — Charles Dickens
— often used with down
stooped down to take a necklace … from the floor — Francis Yeats-Brown
b. : to stand or walk with a temporary or habitual forward inclination of the head, body, or shoulders
stooped through the door of the camp — Lyndall Hadow
stooped along the shore under the headwall of the beach — G.W.Brace
stood before her, a tall, very thin man, stooping a little — Michael Arlen
c. Britain : to lower the head in following a scent
hounds … unlikely to stoop successfully for so weak a scent — E.G.W.W.Harrison
2. : to assume a position of subservience or subjection : humble oneself : bow , submit
stooping before the conqueror
3.
a. : to descend from a superior rank, dignity, or status — usually used with to
couldn't believe that God ever stooped to such trivial engagements — L.C.Douglas
either the audience didn't measure up to his brand of humor, or he wouldn't stoop to theirs — H.J.Higdon
that masculine dignity which forbids our stooping to conquer … the common speech of a foreign people — G.G.Coulton
b. : to lower oneself morally or in a degrading fashion
did not stoop habitually to falsehood and subterfuge to gain her end — Ellen Glasgow
will stoop to robbing a bombed store — J.Coughlan
he stooped to fraud — Hilaire Belloc
4.
a. archaic : to move down from a height : alight
ready now to stoop , with wearied wings and willing feet — John Milton
b. : to fly or dive down swiftly usually to attack prey
the big eagles were stooping closer — David Walker
when a falcon stoops for the kill he is traveling more than two miles a minute — H.M.Robinson
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause (a person or thing) to move lower or bow down : prostrate , overcome
b. : debase , degrade
stooping his talents to an unworthy cause
2. obsolete : to take or let down (as a sail or flag)
3.
a. : to bend (a part of the body) forward and downward
he stooped his head to hers — Maurice Hewlett
his shoulders were stooped as if he were bearing a great bundle — Stephen Crane
the bullocks … stooped their heads to the grass — Adrian Bell
b. dialect England : to cause (as a cask) to incline downward : tilt
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : an act of bending the body forward : stooping
b. : a temporary or habitual forward bend of the back and shoulders
walking bent for 50 yards before he can get the stoop out of his back — F.B.Gipson
walked with a stoop as if laden with invisible burdens — Maurice Samuel
2. : the descent of a bird especially on its prey : swoop
the stoop of a hawk — V.C.Heilner
hover … high above their quarry to descend in a terrific, vertical stoop on the unsuspecting larger bird — Wyo. Wild Life
3. : a lowering of oneself (as from a moral or dignified plane) : condescension , concession
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English stulpe, stowpe post, pillar; akin to Middle Low German stolpe beam, post, stülpen to turn upside down, OLow German stelpōn to stagnate, Old Norse stolpi post, pillar, Latvian stùlbs post, and probably to Old High German stellen to place, set — more at stall
1. dialect Britain : post , pillar ; specifically : a large pillar (as of coal) left to support the roof of a mine
2. Scotland : a chief supporter : prop , mainstay
IV.
variant of stoup
V. ˈstüp noun
( -s )
Etymology: Dutch stoep, from Middle Dutch; akin to Old High German stuofa, stuoffa step of a building, Middle Low German stōpe step of a building, Old English stæpe, stepe step — more at step
: a porch, platform, entrance stairway, or small veranda at a house door
mounted a folding stepladder chair on the front stoop and addressed them — Sinclair Lewis
Synonyms: see balcony