stoop
stoop
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling for "stoop" is /stuːp/.
The word has one syllable:
/stuːp/ - The sounds are:
/s/ (voiceless alveolar fricative)
/t/ (voiceless alveolar stop)
/uː/ (long close back rounded vowel, as in goose)
/p/ (voiceless bilabial stop)
Word Form Variations
The common word form variations of "stoop" are:
Singular Noun: stoop (e.g., a house with a large stoop)
Plural Noun: stoops (e.g., a row of houses with identical stoops)
Base Verb: stoop (e.g., Don't stoop to their level)
Third-person Singular Simple Present Verb: stoops (e.g., He often stoops to pick up trash)
Present Participle/Gerund: stooping (e.g., She is stooping to tie her shoe)
Simple Past Verb / Past Participle: stooped (e.g., He stooped down quickly / She had stooped before entering)
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
1. Architectural Feature A small porch, platform, or set of steps leading up to the entrance of a house or building, typically with a railing and often a place to sit.
Example: After a long day, they often sat on the stoop to watch the sunset.
Synonyms: porch, veranda, steps, platform, portico (more elaborate)
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms; concepts like) basement, threshold, entranceway (too broad)
2. A Posture A habitual, often somewhat slumped or bent-over posture of the shoulders and back.
Example: Years of working at a desk gave him a noticeable stoop.
Synonyms: slouch, slump, droop, round shoulders, hunch
Antonyms: uprightness, straightness, erectness, posture
Verb
1. To Bend or Lower the Body To bend the body forward and downward from the waist, or to lower one's head and shoulders.
Example: He had to stoop to get through the low doorway.
Synonyms: bend, crouch, duck, bow, incline, squat
Antonyms: straighten, stand, rise, ascend
2. To Condescend (Figurative) To lower one's moral or ethical standards; to descend to a level considered unworthy or dishonorable.
Example: I won't stoop to lying just to win an argument.
Synonyms: condescend, descend, debase oneself, sink, lower oneself
Antonyms: rise, ascend, prevail, uphold, maintain standards
3. Of a Bird (Especially a Bird of Prey) To swoop down suddenly and rapidly upon prey.
Example: The falcon began to stoop toward the field mouse.
Synonyms: swoop, dive, plunge, pitch
Antonyms: soar, ascend, climb, hover
Examples of Use
Here are several real-world examples of the word "stoop" used as both a noun and a verb across various mediums.
Noun Examples (The Porch/Steps)
Book (Literary Fiction): "In the evenings, people would gather on their stoops, sipping iced tea and watching the kids play stickball in the street." (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1943)
Newspaper (Local News/Real Estate): "The classic stoop of the historic brownstone has long served as a vital social hub in New York City neighborhoods." (The New York Times, June 2018)
Online Publication (Architecture/Design): "Adding a small overhang above your stoop not only provides shelter from rain but also enhances curb appeal." ( Architectural Digest, January 2024)
Entertainment (Television/Film): "The opening scene showed the main character sitting pensively on the apartment stoop before heading out for the day." (Do the Right Thing, 1989)
Verb Examples (To Bend or To Condescend)
To Bend/Lower the Body
Online Publication (Health/Ergonomics): "Lifting heavy objects requires proper form; don't stoop with your back, but squat and lift with your legs." (Mayo Clinic Newsletter, September 2023)
Book (Historical Nonfiction): "His aging body had begun to stoop slightly, a consequence of years spent hunched over maps and documents." (Lincoln, David Herbert Donald, 1995)
General Public Discourse: A parent might tell a child, "Don't forget to stoop down low when you enter the treehouse, or you'll hit your head."
To Condescend/Lower Standards
Newspaper (Opinion/Editorial): "It is disheartening to see political leaders stoop to personal attacks rather than debate policy on its merits." (The Washington Post, May 2024)
Entertainment (Sports Commentary): "Despite the aggressive taunts from the opposing team, the star player refused to stoop to their level and kept his focus on the game." (ESPN Broadcast, February 2023)
General Public Discourse: "I was tempted to cheat on the assignment, but I wouldn't stoop that low."
10 Famous Quotes Using Stoop
"Remember, you can always stoop and pick up nothing." (Charlie Chaplin)
"Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar." (William Wordsworth)
"The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is." (Phillips Brooks)
"There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher." (Henry Van Dyke)
"To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time." (Katharine Hepburn)
"You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there." (George Burns)
"He who jumps for the moon and gets it not leaps higher than he who stoops for a penny in the mud." (Howard Pyle)
"It is easy to starve, but it is difficult to stoop." (Mary Elizabeth Braddon)
"Grace is God loving, God stooping, God coming to the rescue, God giving himself generously in and through Jesus Christ." (John Stott)
"The high-spirited man may indeed die, but he will not stoop to meanness." (Ovid)
Etymology
The word stoop has two main meanings today, and its etymology (word history) reflects both of those paths.
1. Etymology of STOOP (Verb: To bend, to condescend)
Origin: This meaning comes from the Old English word stūpian, which meant "to bend the body, to bow, or to submit."
First Known Use/Meaning: Around the 12th or 13th century, it was strictly a physical term meaning to bend or lower oneself.
Evolution: The figurative sense—meaning "to lower one's moral standards" or "to condescend"—developed much later, likely in the 14th or 15th century, extending the physical action of lowering the body to the social action of lowering one's status or dignity.
2. Etymology of STOOP (Noun: The porch or steps)
Origin: This meaning comes from the Middle Dutch word stoep (and related words in Middle Low German), which meant a "flight of steps, a raised platform, or a small porch."
How it Arrived in English: This is a classic borrowed word that came into English through the early Dutch settlers in North America, particularly in the New York area (formerly New Amsterdam). The word described the raised entrance platforms common on Dutch colonial houses.
First Known Use/Meaning: Its first recorded use in English, specifically as the name for the architectural feature, is in the mid-18th century in American English, and it remains primarily an American regional term today.
In short, the verb to stoop is a very old English word, but the noun stoop (for the porch) is a much newer American word borrowed from Dutch.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Stoop
Here is a list of phrases and idioms using the word "stoop" or its common synonyms to convey similar ideas (bending or condescending).
Phrases and Idioms with "Stoop" (Verb/Action)
To stoop to their level: To lower one's moral or intellectual standards to match those of a less ethical or less intelligent person. (The most common figurative idiom)
Stoop and conquer: A rhetorical or literary phrase suggesting that humility or bending down (figuratively or literally) can lead to victory or success.
To stoop to the ground/floor: To physically bend down to the level of the ground, often to pick something up.
The falcon's stoop: A specific, technical term describing a bird of prey's rapid, downward dive onto its target.
A noticeable stoop: Refers to a prominent, often habitual, forward-bending posture of the back or shoulders (using the word as a noun).
Phrases and Idioms with Synonyms (For Similar Effect)
To compensate for the limited number of widely recognized idioms using "stoop," here are phrases that convey the same meaning of lowering one's standards or bending:
To sink to that depth: To descend to an unacceptable moral or ethical low point.
To reach a new low: To perform an action that is more contemptible or dishonorable than anything previously done.
To take the low road: To choose the unethical or dishonorable course of action.
To bow one's head in submission: A synonym for stoop when it means to submit or yield.
To get down off your high horse: A forceful, often humorous way of telling someone to stop condescending (i.e., stop refusing to stoop).
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of stoop from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
