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Golf was being played in Scotland as early as the 15th century, but it wasn't until the 19th century that the sport really caught on in England and North America. It was also in the 19th century that the word stymie entered English as a noun referring to a golfing situation in which one player's ball lies between another ball and the hole on the putting green, thereby blocking the line of play. Later, stymie came to be used as a verb meaning "to bring into the position of, or impede by, a stymie." By the early 20th century, the verb was being applied in similarly vexing non-golf contexts.
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Examples of stymie in a Sentence
Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 19 Nov. 2024
From mass deportations to corporate tax cuts: Trump's agenda on the line
Which side prevails will be the difference between a House that advances Trump's agenda or one that stymies him at every turn.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 10 Nov. 2024
These sanctions stymied Huawei’s telecommunications and consumer electronics business, forcing it to suspend products and spin off parts of the company to stay alive.
—Alena Botros, Fortune Asia, 1 Nov. 2024
Faced with a probable Republican Senate and a thin majority in the House, she will likely be stymied from passing any substantive legislation.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Stymie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stymie. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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stymie
verb
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