stumpy

American  

[stuhm-pee] / ˈstʌm pi /

adjective

stumpier, stumpiest

1. of the nature of or resembling a stump.

2. short and thick; stubby; stocky.

3. abounding in stumps.

   a stumpy field.

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stumpy British  

/ ˈstʌmpɪ /

adjective

1. short and thickset like a stump; stubby

2. abounding in or full of stumps

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Other Word Forms

• stumpily adverb
• stumpiness noun

Etymology

Origin of stumpy

First recorded in 1590–1600; stump + -y ¹

Example Sentences

An herbivore that was loosely related to horses, the statue looked something like a horse with stumpy snout.

From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2023

He reached into Hideg’s stash of percussion instruments and kept rhythm on cowbell and a set of stumpy sticks called claves.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2023

In Barcelona, somewhere along the tracks where my mom's train would be chugging along, I discovered a log creature with a face and four stumpy legs.

From Salon • Dec. 25, 2021

The concert and special-events venue sits on a wide block of stumpy converted spaces, across from an Apple support store.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 30, 2015

At each turn of the road there were great standing stones that had been carved in the likeness of men, huge and clumsy-limbed, squatting cross-legged with their stumpy arms folded on fat bellies.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien