To stoop means to bend your body forward and downward. You might stoop to pick up a dropped pencil, stoop to look under a desk, or stoop to avoid hitting your head on a low branch. Tall people often have to stoop when entering old buildings with low doorways.

The word can also describe a permanent slouch or bent posture. Someone who stoops while walking has rounded shoulders and a forward-leaning back, often from years of poor posture or age. Your grandmother might remind you not to stoop over your desk while doing homework, warning you that good posture matters.

Stoop also means to lower yourself to doing something you consider beneath your dignity or values. If someone tries to get you to cheat on a test, you might say, “I won't stoop to that.” When a politician stoops to personal insults instead of discussing real issues, they're acting in a way that's beneath what we expect from our leaders. This meaning suggests you're bending down morally, just as you'd bend your body physically, to reach something low.

Finally, a stoop is also a noun: a small porch or set of steps leading to a house's entrance, common in older neighborhoods. Kids might sit on the stoop on a summer evening, watching their neighbors pass by.