stooge

1 of 2

noun

ˈstüj 

1

a

: one who plays a subordinate or compliant role to a principal

b

: puppet sense 3

2

: straight man

3

: stool pigeon sense 1

stooge

2 of 2

verb

stooged; stooging

intransitive verb

: to act as a stooge

congressmen who stooge for the oil and mineral interests

—New Republic

Examples of stooge in a Sentence

Noun

a gangster and his stooges

He's just a stooge for the oil industry.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Insurance commissioners have too often been industry stooges. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024

When designing the characters, Terrazas was constantly thinking about contrasts; how a leader would look next to his stooges, how Páramo’s guys would be identifiable without him on screen. —Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024

Verb

President Salome Zourabichvili, who came to power with Georgian Dream’s endorsement in 2018, was initially dismissed by critics as a party stooge. —Nadia Beard, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2024

Everyone who doesn’t march in lock-step with the Western establishment’s dominant narrative is branded a traitor, a Kremlin stooge, or a threat to democracy. —Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 18 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

1913, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1939, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

stooge

noun

ˈstüj

1

: one who follows or serves another without thinking

2

: an actor who usually by asking questions prepares the way for a principal comedian's jokes

stooge verb