stoop (redirected from stooping)

stoop down

to dip, duck, or squat down. I had to stoop down to enter the tiny door. Stoop down so you don't bump your head.

stoop over

to bend over. Carl stooped over to pick up his napkin and lost his balance. As he stooped over, he lost his balance and fell.

stoop to doing something

to degrade oneself or condescend to doing something; to do something that is beneath one. Whoever thought that the manager of the department would stoop to sweeping up? I never dreamed that Bill would stoop to stealing.

See also: doing

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stoop to something

to do something that makes your moral standards lower They have stooped to using threats of violence in order to get their way.

Usage notes: often used in the forms stoop to someone's level or stoop to the level of dong something: The president shouldn't stoop to the level of exchanging insults.

Etymology: from the literal meaning of stoop (to bend forward and down to make yourself smaller)