stooge
/stuːd͡ʒ/noun, verb
stooge is spelled S-T-O-O-G-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, stooge means “One who knowingly allows themself to be used for another's profit; a dupe” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of stooge is stooges.
How many letters and syllables are in stooge?
| Letters | 6: S-T-O-O-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is stooge?
Stooge appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce stooge?
- /stuːd͡ʒ/
Stooge has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-stooge.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of stooge
- stooges plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- stooging participle, present
- stooged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stooge mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who knowingly allows themself to be used for another's profit; a dupe.
- 2
A magician's assistant who pretends to be a member of the audience.
- 3
A straight man.
- 4
A secret informant for police.
- 5
A confederate; a person who is secretly working for the researcher, unknown to the study participant.
verb
- 1
To act as a straight man.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stooge in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dupe, pion, pigeon, larbin, laquais |
| German | Marionette, Handlanger, Handlangerin, Strohmann, Strohfrau, Jasager |
| Spanish | marioneta, primo, iluso , confidente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does stooge come from?
Perhaps an abbreviation of Russian студе́нт (studént) [stʊˈdʲent]; the original meaning was “stage assistant, actor who assists a comedian”. It may have been a Yiddish vaudeville term.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).