stump

[stuhmp] /stʌmp/
noun
1.
the lower end of a tree or plant left after the main part falls or is cut off; a standing tree trunk from which the upper part and branches have been removed.
2.
the part of a limb of the body remaining after the rest has been cut off.
3.
a part of a broken or decayed tooth left in the gum.
4.
a short remnant, as of a candle; stub.
5.
any basal part remaining after the main or more important part has been removed.
6.
an artificial leg.
7.
Usually, stumps. Informal. legs:
Stir your stumps and get out of here.
8.
a short, stocky person.
9.
a heavy step or gait, as of a wooden-legged or lame person.
10.
the figurative place of political speechmaking:
to go on the stump.
11.
Furniture. a support for the front end of the arm of a chair, sofa, etc.
Compare post1 (def 2).
12.
a short, thick roll of paper, soft leather, or some similar material, usually having a blunt point, for rubbing a pencil, charcoal, or crayon drawing in order to achieve subtle gradations of tone in representing light and shade.
13.
Cricket. each of the three upright sticks that, with the two bails laid on top of them, form a wicket.
verb (used with object)
14.
to reduce to a stump; truncate; lop.
15.
to clear of stumps, as land.
16.
Chiefly Southern U.S. to stub, as one's toe.
17.
to nonplus, embarrass, or render completely at a loss:
This riddle stumps me.
18.
to challenge or dare to do something.
19.
to make political campaign speeches to or in:
to stump a state.
20.
Cricket. (of the wicketkeeper) to put (a batsman) out by knocking down a stump or by dislodging a bail with the ball held in the hand at a moment when the batsman is off his ground.
21.
to tone or modify (a crayon drawing, pencil rendering, etc.) by means of a stump.
verb (used without object)
22.
to walk heavily or clumsily, as if with a wooden leg:
The captain stumped across the deck.
23.
to make political campaign speeches; electioneer.
Idioms
24.
up a stump, Informal. at a loss; embarrassed; perplexed:
Sociologists are up a stump over the sharp rise in juvenile delinquency and crime.
Origin
1200-50; (noun) Middle English stompe, cognate with or < Middle Low German stump(e), Middle Dutch stomp (compare German Stumpf); (v.) Middle English stumpen to stumble (as over a stump), derivative of the noun
Related forms
stumpless, adjective
stumplike, adjective
Examples from the web for stump
  • He has since repeatedly mentioned the highway in a standard stump speech on his environmental accomplishments.
  • The stump of the once-glorious dome is now covered with wooden scaffolding.
  • When the gene is absent, the worm forms a stump with random junk from other parts of its body, but no brain.
  • Beauty's current stump is useless for hunting food, so a biologist has been hand-feeding the bird with forceps.
  • Around the bottom of his right leg were two tourniquets and a white bandage covering another stump.
  • She has even found what appears to be a redwood stump literally ripped apart by the great quake.
  • As a result, stump sprouting has been key to the survival of the redwoods throughout the logging era.
  • In short, media companies depend on people's willingness to stump up for multi-channel television each month.
  • As a result, they have legions of fans who are prepared to stump up for concert tickets.
  • His stump speech offers a simple two-part explanation of what has gone wrong.
British Dictionary definitions for stump

stump

/stʌmp/
noun
1.
the base part of a tree trunk left standing after the tree has been felled or has fallen
2.
the part of something, such as a tooth, limb, or blade, that remains after a larger part has been removed
3.
(informal, facetious)
  1. (often pl) a leg
  2. stir one's stumps, to move or become active
4.
(cricket) any of three upright wooden sticks that, with two bails laid across them, form a wicket (the stumps)
5.
Also called tortillon. a short sharply-pointed stick of cork or rolled paper or leather, used in drawing and shading
6.
a heavy tread or the sound of heavy footsteps
7.
a platform used by an orator when addressing a meeting
8.
(often pl) (Austral) a pile used to support a house
9.
(mainly US & Canadian) on the stump, engaged in campaigning, esp by political speech-making
verb
10.
(transitive) to stop, confuse, or puzzle
11.
(intransitive) to plod or trudge heavily
12.
(transitive) (cricket) (of a fielder, esp a wicketkeeper) to dismiss (a batsman) by breaking his wicket with the ball or with the ball in the hand while he is out of his crease
13.
(mainly US & Canadian) to campaign or canvass (an area), esp by political speech-making
14.
(transitive) to reduce to a stump; lop
15.
(transitive) to clear (land) of stumps
Derived Forms
stumper, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Middle Low German stump; related to Dutch stomp, German Stumpf; see stamp
Word Origin and History for stump
n.

mid-14c., "remaining part of a severed arm or leg," from or cognate with Middle Low German stump (from adjective meaning "mutilated, blunt, dull"), Middle Dutch stomp "stump," from Proto-Germanic *stump- (cf. Old Norse stumpr, Old High German and German stumpf "stump," German Stummel "piece cut off"), perhaps related to the root of stub or stamp, but the connection in each case presents difficulties.

Earliest form of the word in English is a now-obsolete verb meaning "to stumble over a tree-stump or other obstacle," attested from mid-13c. Meaning "part of a tree trunk left in the ground after felling" is from mid-15c. Sense of "walk clumsily" is first recorded c.1600; that of "baffle" is first recorded 1807, perhaps in reference to plowing newly cleared land.

v.

"to go on a speaking tour during a political campaign," 1838, American English, from phrase stump speech (1820), from stump (n.), large tree stumps being a natural perch for rural orators (this custom is attested from 1775).

stump in Medicine

stump (stŭmp)
n.

  1. The extremity of a limb left after amputation.

  2. The pedicle remaining after removal of the tumor to which it was attached.

Slang definitions & phrases for stump

stump

verb
  1. To baffle; perplex; nonplus: The problem's got me stumped (1807+)
  2. To make speeches, esp on a political tour: The candidate is stumping today in Illinois (1838+)
  3. A telephone or other wire-carrying pole (1940s+ Line repairers)

[first sense fr the notion of being blocked by stumps in one's way; second sense fr standing up on a stump to make a speech]