stooge
Americannoun
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any underling, assistant, or accomplice.
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an entertainer who feeds lines to the main comedian and usually serves as the butt of the jokes.
verb (used without object)
noun
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an actor who feeds lines to a comedian or acts as his foil or butt
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slang someone who is taken advantage of by another
verb
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slang to act as a stooge
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slang (esp in the RAF) to fly or move about aimlessly
Etymology
Origin of stooge
An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; origin uncertain
Explanation
A person who's fooled into doing all the hard or dirty work for someone else is a stooge. If you're the butt of someone's mean jokes, you're also a stooge. A slapstick comedian's sidekick — the one who gets a pie in his face or is hit in the head with a board — is a stooge. Now you know how the Three Stooges got their name! The word started out meaning "actor who assists a comedian," possibly derived from student, but it has evolved to be fairly derogatory. In crime, a stooge works for the mastermind: "She'll be arrested for selling the candy he stole, but she's just a stooge."
Vocabulary lists containing stooge
The Things They Carried
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Displacement
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Selection Vocabulary 3, Unit 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One of the smart tweaks Bong has made to Ashton’s book is devolving the character from an everyman into a passive stooge.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2025
Its corporate stooge Mr Paradox, played by Succession's Matthew Macfadyen, tries to covertly recruit Deadpool to help safeguard the central "sacred" timeline of reality by sacrificing his world.
From BBC • Jul. 24, 2024
Then again, Myn has a reason for stonewalling Hera – he's an Imperial stooge wearing the cloak of a businessman.
From Salon • Sep. 7, 2023
“He was a stooge from the beginning,” Mr. Sannikov said.
From New York Times • May 23, 2023
Perhaps Maddie was more of a backseat driver than a stooge.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
