stoop Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an inclination of the top half of the body forward and downward
  2. noun basin for holy water
    stoup.
  3. noun small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house
    stoep.
  4. verb bend one's back forward from the waist on down
    crouch; bend; bow.
    • he crouched down
    • She bowed before the Queen
    • The young man stooped to pick up the girl's purse
  5. verb debase oneself morally, act in an undignified, unworthy, or dishonorable way
    condescend; lower oneself.
    • I won't stoop to reading other people's mail
  6. verb descend swiftly, as if on prey
    • The eagle stooped on the mice in the field
  7. verb sag, bend, bend over or down
    • the rocks stooped down over the hiking path
  8. verb carry oneself, often habitually, with head, shoulders, and upper back bent forward
    • The old man was stooping but he could walk around without a cane

WordNet

Stoop noun
Etymology
D. stoep.
Definitions
  1. (Arch.) Originally, a covered porch with seats, at a house door; the Dutch stoep as introduced by the Dutch into New York. Afterward, an out-of-door flight of stairs of from seven to fourteen steps, with platform and parapets, leading to an entrance door some distance above the street; the French perron. Hence, any porch, platform, entrance stairway, or small veranda, at a house door. U. S.
Stoop noun
Etymology
OE. stope, Icel. staup; akin to AS. steáp, D. stoop, G. stauf, OHG. stouph.
Definitions
  1. A vessel of liquor; a flagon. Written also stoup.
    Fetch me a stoop of liquor. Shak.
Stoop noun
Etymology
Cf. Icel. staup a knobby lump.
Definitions
  1. A post fixed in the earth. Prov. Eng.
Stoop intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. stoupen; akin to AS. stpian, OD. stuypen, Icel. st&umac;pa, Sw. stupa to fall, to tilt. Cf 5th Steep.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Stooped ; present participle & verbal noun Stooping
Definitions
  1. To bend the upper part of the body downward and forward; to bend or lean forward; to incline forward in standing or walking; to assume habitually a bent position.
  2. To yield; to submit; to bend, as by compulsion; to assume a position of humility or subjection.
    Mighty in her ships stood Carthage long, . . . Yet stooped to Rome, less wealthy, but more strong. Dryden.
    These are arts, my prince, In which your Zama does not stoop to Rome. Addison.
  3. To descend from rank or dignity; to condescend. "She stoops to conquer." Goldsmith.
    Where men of great wealth stoop to husbandry, it multiplieth riches exceedingly. Bacon.
  4. To come down as a hawk does on its prey; to pounce; to souse; to swoop.
    The bird of Jove, stooped from his aëry tour, Two birds of gayest plume before him drove. Milton.
  5. To sink when on the wing; to alight.
    And stoop with closing pinions from above. Dryden.
    Cowering low With blandishment, each bird stooped on his wing. Milton.
    Syn. -- To lean; yield; submit; condescend; descend; cower; shrink.
Stoop transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To bend forward and downward; to bow down; as, to stoop the body. "Have stooped my neck." Shak.
  2. To cause to incline downward; to slant; as, to stoop a cask of liquor.
  3. To cause to submit; to prostrate. Obs.
    Many of those whose states so tempt thine ears Are stooped by death; and many left alive. Chapman.
  4. To degrade. Obs. Shak.
Stoop noun
Definitions
  1. The act of stooping, or bending the body forward; inclination forward; also, an habitual bend of the back and shoulders.
  2. Descent, as from dignity or superiority; condescension; an act or position of humiliation.
    Can any loyal subject see With patience such a stoop from sovereignty? Dryden.
  3. The fall of a bird on its prey; a swoop. L'Estrange.

Webster 1913