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stump speech

noun

  1. a political campaign speech, especially one made on a campaign tour.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of stump speech1

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20
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Example Sentences

The story of Mayfield is the story of many small towns in this country, told again and again in campaign stump speeches and Bruce Springsteen songs, to the point that it sounds now more like myth.

From Time

In stump speeches, Youngkin often invokes Virginia’s roster of Founding Fathers to pledge a return to traditional values that empower individuals to succeed.

After park workers in Gastonia told Jackson that his portable loudspeaker was forbidden, Jackson hopped up on a picnic table and shouted out his stump speech.

The book reads like a 300-page stump speech in a one-man campaign to be elected Guy Who Knows the Most About Politics.

They are model citizens, the kind of people whose lives might be used as exemplary stories by a politician in a stump speech.

When Schwartz finally arrived, she gave a version of her sunny stump speech.

Lastly, at his speech last night, Cruz got lots of hoots and hollers for his stump speech about guns/growth/freedom.

Indeed, during his final stump speech of the campaign, Obama's cheeks were streaked with tears.

In his stump speech, he calls them “powerful, mean people.”

Thus, the interpreter, confusing the points of situation, transforms the monologue into a stump speech.

Taking out a wooden leg, he answered: "A stump speech agin the war."

If ye were to hear that fellow make a stump speech on States' rights, you'd think him a Samson on Government.

And for a wind-up you can give them a stump speech, and I'll bill you as Lew Dockstader, second.

They were not slow in claiming that he would make a better stump speech than any one at the county seat.

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More About Stump Speech

What does stump speech come from?

A stump speech is a campaign speech—a speech made to encourage people to vote for a politician.

The word stump can refer to a platform for making speeches. This use isn’t common, but this sense of the word is commonly used in a figurative way to refer to the place where political campaign speeches are made, especially in the phrase on the stump, as in The senator went out on the stump to try to win re-election. 

Stump can also be used as a verb meaning to campaign, as in He’s stumping in Iowa today or He has endorsed the senator and will be stumping for her.

The term stump speech most often refers to a speech made on a campaign tour. It most commonly refers to a speech made by the politician who’s campaigning, but it can also refer to a speech made in support of that politician. This person can be called a stumper.

Example: He uses the same stump speech at every campaign stop—he just changes the name of the city each time. 

Where does stump speech come from?

The first records of the term stump speech come from around 1820. It was first and is primarily used in the U.S. The first records of the word stump to refer to a platform for speechmaking come from the 1770s.

Politicians are always making speeches. This is especially true when they’re trying to get re-elected. Calling a speech a stump speech indicates that it’s a campaign speech, but it also sometimes implies that it’s a bit formulaic and maybe just not that good.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for stump speech?

  • campaign speech

What are some words that share a root or word element with stump speech

What are some words that often get used in discussing stump speech?

How is stump speech used in real life?

Stump speech is always used in the context of politics. It especially refers to a speech made during a campaign tour.

 

Try using stump speech!

True or False?

A stump speech is always made by the person seeking election.

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