stamp

[ stamp ]

verb (used with object)

1. to strike or beat with a forcible, downward thrust of the foot.
2. to bring (the foot) down forcibly or smartly on the ground, floor, etc.
3. to extinguish, crush, etc., by striking with a forcible downward thrust of the foot (followed by out ):

   to stamp out a fire.

4. to suppress or quell (a rebellion, uprising, etc.) quickly through the use of overwhelming force (usually followed by out ).

   Synonyms: quash, eliminate

5. to crush or pound with or as with a pestle.
6. to impress with a particular mark or device, as to indicate genuineness, approval, or ownership:

   to stamp a document with a seal.

7. to mark or impress with a design, word, mark, etc.:

   Age stamped his face with lines.

8. to impress (a design, word, mark, etc.) on:

   to stamp one's initials on a document.

9. to affix a postage stamp to (a letter, envelope, etc.).
10. to characterize, distinguish, or reveal:

    His ingenuity with words stamped him as a potential poet.

verb (used without object)

1. to bring the foot down forcibly or smartly, as in crushing something, expressing rage, etc.
2. to walk with forcible or heavy, resounding steps:

   He stamped out of the room in anger.

noun

1. a postage stamp.
2. an act or instance of stamping.
3. a die or block for impressing or imprinting.
4. a design or legend made with such a die or block.
5. an official mark indicating genuineness, validity, etc., or payment of a duty or charge.
6. a peculiar or distinctive impression or mark:

   a great man who left his stamp on legal procedure.

7. character, kind, or type:

   a woman of serious stamp.

8. an official seal or device appearing on a business or legal document to show that a tax has been paid.
9. Also called local, such a device, often similar to a postage stamp issued by a private organization to show that the charges for mail carrying have been paid.
10. trading stamp.
11. food stamp.
12. an instrument for stamping, crushing, or pounding.
13. a heavy piece of iron or the like, as in a stamp mill, for crushing ore or other material.

stamp

/ stæmp /

verb

1. whenintr, often foll by on to bring (the foot) down heavily (on the ground, etc)
2. intr to walk with heavy or noisy footsteps
3. intrfoll byon to repress, extinguish, or eradicate

   he stamped on any criticism

4. tr to impress or mark (a particular device or sign) on (something)
5. to mark (something) with an official impress, seal, or device

   to stamp a passport

6. tr to fix or impress permanently

   the date was stamped on her memory

7. tr to affix a postage stamp to
8. tr to distinguish or reveal

   that behaviour stamps him as a cheat

9. to pound or crush (ores, etc)

noun

1. the act or an instance of stamping
2. 1. See postage stamp
   2. a mark applied to postage stamps for cancellation purposes
3. a similar piece of gummed paper used for commercial or trading purposes
4. a block, die, etc, used for imprinting a design or device
5. a design, device, or mark that has been stamped
6. a characteristic feature or trait; hallmark

   the story had the stamp of authenticity

7. a piece of gummed paper or other mark applied to official documents to indicate payment of a fee, validity, ownership, etc
8. informal.
   a national insurance contribution, formerly recorded by means of a stamp on an official card
9. type or class

   we want to employ men of his stamp

10. an instrument or machine for crushing or pounding ores, etc, or the pestle in such a device

Derived Forms

• ˈstamper, noun

Other Words From

• stampa·ble adjective
• stampless adjective
• mis·stamp verb (used with object)
• non·stampa·ble adjective
• pre·stamp noun verb (used with object)
• re·stamp verb
• super·stamp noun verb (used with object)
• under·stamp noun
• under·stamp verb (used with object)
• un·stamped adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stamp¹

1150–1200; (v.) early Middle English stampen to pound, crush, probably continuing Old English *stampian (cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German stampen, Old High German stampfōn, Old Norse stappa ); sense development apparently influenced by Old French estamper to stamp < Germanic; (noun) late Middle English: instrument for stamping an impression; partly derivative of the v., partly < Old French estampe, derivative of estamper

Word History and Origins

Origin of stamp¹

Old English stampe ; related to Old High German stampfōn to stamp, Old Norse stappa

Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with stamp , also see rubber stamp .

Synonym Study

See abolish.

Example Sentences

The patch is a soft and stretchy device, about the size of a postage stamp, that adheres to the skin.

From Science Daily

President-elect Donald Trump and his advisers are eyeing major cuts to federal safety net programs like Medicaid and food stamps to balance the cost of their massive tax agenda, The Washington Post reported Monday.

From Salon

The update was proposed in September and rubber stamped on Tuesday, the 1,000th day of the war with Ukraine.

From BBC

The Postal Service said that the 2025 list of stamps was a partial one and that additional stamps would be announced at a later date.

From Los Angeles Times

The museum’s chief curator has lamented that “it looks like a postage stamp.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• emblem
• print
• signature
• sticker

About This Word

What else does stamp mean?

Content warning: the following content includes references to illicit drugs.

In slang, stamp can refer to LSD (acid) or a bag of heroin.

It can also be short for food stamps or the expression stamp of approval.

Where does stamp come from?

The drug slang stamps is recorded in the early 2000s. It can refer to drugs like LSD, also known as acid, when distributed as small, perforated tabs of paper soaked in the drug, said to resemble postage stamps (and said to have been distributed in prisons onto actual postage stamps since at least the 1970s).

It can also refer to small baggies of drugs, such as heroin, stamped with the logo or brand of a dealer.

Stamps can also be short for food stamps, a social welfare program (and term) started in 1939 to provide food to families living in poverty in the United States. Now formally known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, they originally took the form of coupons (hence stamps) redeemable for food at designated stores.

If someone stamps you, it could be a sign of their approval. This expression comes from a stamp of approval, after an official marking made by a rubber stamp. This was shortened by at least 2005 to stamp, as notably used by Eminem in his 2018 song “Venom,” where he says Dr. Dre gave him “his stamp like a postcard” (i.e., Dre was OK with Slim Shady).

How is stamp used in real life?

The meaning of stamp depends on context.

If someone is expressing that something meets with their approval, they might say Stamp!

Hillary got the official stamp from Beyonce, she should win now.

— Chuckus Godfrey 🇬🇭 (@TheFrugalScribe) November 5, 2016

But, when Fetty Wap raps that “Remy Boyz got the stamp” on “Trap Queen” (2014–15), he’s talking about dealing heroin—though he may be also punning off stamp’s sense as “approval.”

If someone is licking stamps, it can mean they are getting high on acid—or sending a postcard.

In other contexts, stamps refers to the government assistance of food stamps.

Regulating what they can buy on stamps is very weird gives dictator vibes

— Tyriq Harris (@TyriqHarris) February 13, 2018

More examples of stamp:

“It’s basically a photo archive of all the various heroin stamps floating around the Brooklyn and Manhattan areas, with reviews of the product itself so that other users have a real-time directory of what’s going to make them nod off into a state of blissful, introspective somnolence, and what’s going to leave them puking water and bile for hours.”
—Jamie Clifton, Vice, March 2012

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.