Meaning & use
stooge
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Meanings
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
A person who is used by someone more powerful to do their work or carry out their wishes, and who has little real freedom.
Grammar: Countable and critical in tone: a government stooge.
Patterns
- a stooge for someone
- a stooge of someone
The newspaper called the mayor a stooge of the big developers.
He refused to be anyone's stooge and spoke his own mind.
Critics said the committee was a stooge for the company.
nouncountableold-fashioned
A performer, usually a comedian's partner, whose job is to feed lines or be the object of the jokes.
Grammar: Used in comedy and entertainment.
Patterns
- a stooge for someone
The comedian's stooge stood quietly while the jokes landed.
In the old comedy act, the stooge was always hit with a pie.
She played the stooge to the headline star.
verbintransitiveBritishinformalold-fashioned
To move or wander about without any clear aim, wasting time.
Grammar: Usually used with around or about: stooge around.
Patterns
- stooge around
- stooge about
He spent Sunday stooging around the house in his pajamas.
They stooged about town waiting for the film to begin.
Stop stooging around and help me carry these boxes.
Word forms
| plural | stooges |
|---|---|
| third person singular | stooges |
| past tense | stooged |
| past participle | stooged |
| -ing form | stooging |
Common combinations
- a mere stooge
- He was a mere stooge for the real owners.
- government stooge
- Protesters called the editor a government stooge.
- act as a stooge
- She refused to act as a stooge for the boss.
- comic stooge
- The comic stooge took every pie in the face.
- stooge around
- They stooged around the park all afternoon.
Synonyms and how they differ
- puppet
- Puppet stresses that someone is fully controlled from behind the scenes, while stooge implies willing service to a powerful person.
- lackey
- Lackey emphasizes servile obedience and sounds even more contemptuous than stooge.
- pawn
- Pawn suggests a person moved around by others without knowing it, whereas a stooge often knows.
- minion
- Minion is a follower of a powerful person and can be humorous, whereas stooge is more openly scornful.
Opposites
Word family
- stooging noun
- aimless wandering or acting as someone's helper
- stooge around phrase
- to wander about without a purpose
Practice
The reporter described the official as a ___ of the party leaders, saying he never made a decision on his own.
Choose one answer.
A stooge is someone who does what more powerful people want, which matches the description. A rival, critic or mentor would show independence or authority.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stooge”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.