poop
Pluralpoops
Pluralpoops
- 1Solid waste matter passed from the body; feces, or an act of passing it.
Signs in the park remind owners to bag their dogs' poop.
The vet asked us to bring in a sample of the puppy's poop.
UsageMilder than shit and plainer than feces, so it suits talk with children and about pets.
- 2To pass solid waste from the body, sometimes accidentally into one's clothes (poop oneself).
Some cats won't poop if the litter box is dirty.
The horse pooped just as the bride stepped out of the carriage.
UsageUsually with no object (the dog pooped); poop your pants says where it ended up.
- 3The raised deck at the stern of a ship (the poop deck), or the rear part of the ship itself.
The officers paced the poop as the frigate came about.
From the poop, the helmsman could see the whole length of the ship.
Note
As the name of a deck it takes the prepositions of a floor: on the poop, up on the poop, from the poop. E. R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros (1922) reaches for an older one, with the King stumbling "whenas he went upon the poop".
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- E. R. Eddison wrote The Worm Ouroboros. en.wikisource.org
- The Worm Ouroboros was first published in 1922. gutenberg.org
- The quoted wording occurs in the novel, where Corund recalls the King stumbling as he went upon the poop. en.wikisource.org
- 4To become exhausted and give up (usually poop out), or to tire someone out completely.
Our old dog tends to poop out after about a mile, so we keep the walks short.
The team pooped out in the fourth quarter and lost by twenty.
UsageUsually poop out; pooped on its own means very tired: I'm pooped.
Less common meanings
- 5Information or facts, especially inside or up-to-date details, often about how a machine or process works.
Ask Joe; he's got the straight poop on the new printing press.
A friend in shipping gave her the inside poop on how the new system would work.
UsageIn set phrases: the straight poop, the inside poop, the poop on something.
Similarinformation (entry), info, lowdown, scoop
Note
Army slang of the Second World War had the poop sheet, a page of up-to-date information, recorded in 1941; its own origin is uncertain, perhaps a joke about toilet paper.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Poop sheet is recorded in Second World War Army slang in 1941, meaning up-to-date information. en.wiktionary.org
- Its origin is uncertain, possibly referring to toilet paper. en.wiktionary.org
- 6A person who is stupid or ineffectual.
The committee was run by a pompous poop who couldn't make a decision to save his life.
A handful of tired old poops sat on the board and approved whatever they were handed.
UsageOften after old: a silly old poop, a stuffy old poop.
Similarfool, idiot, twit, nitwit
Note
The insult may be a clipping of nincompoop, and it stays mild, more teasing than coarse. It likes old in front of it: Kurt Vonnegut's Slapstick (1976) has "powerless old poops like myself", and a stuffy old poop is the familiar type.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- The insult may be a shortening of nincompoop. en.wiktionary.org
- Kurt Vonnegut wrote Slapstick, first published in 1976. bestsellers.lib.virginia.edu
- Slapstick contains the exact quoted words; they occur in the fictional narrator's account, not as Vonnegut describing himself. en.wiktionary.org
- 7A mild, childish stand-in for a curse, used to express annoyed disappointment.
Poop. They're sold out of the chocolate ones again.
We missed the train by thirty seconds. Poop.
Similardrat, rats, shoot, darn
Note
The exclamation works as a one-word sentence, set before the bad news or after it: "Poop. The copier's broken again." It suits the moment a bold plan or boast falls flat. It stands in for a stronger word, which keeps it childish and safe for the office.
- 8To give a quick toot on a horn.
Similartoot
Note
The origin is uncertain, but Middle English poupen could mean to blow on a horn or toot, as well as to make a gulping sound while drinking. The horn sense is obsolete and takes no object; its nearest living relative in sound is the steam whistle's poop.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- The origin is uncertain, with Middle English poupen a possible source. en.wiktionary.org
- Middle English poupen could mean to blow or toot a horn. en.wiktionary.org
- Middle English poupen could also mean to make a gulping sound while drinking. en.wiktionary.org
- The horn sense is obsolete and intransitive. en.wiktionary.org
- Poop also denotes the sound of a steam whistle. en.wiktionary.org
- 9To release gas from the bowels; to break wind.
Note
Low German has a close match in pupen, "to fart", and English once used poop the same way. The sense is obsolete, and a modern reader will hear the meaning "to defecate" instead, so in an early text the word may mean breaking wind, not passing waste.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Low German pupen means "to fart" and is compared with English poop. en.wiktionary.org
- English poop formerly meant to break wind, and that sense is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
- 10A poppyhead finial, the kind seen on church pews and occasionally on other benches.
Note
Church woodwork once used this name for the carved finial on a pew end, where the usual word now is poppyhead. Its origin is uncertain: it may come from French poupe, a ship's stern, or from poupée, a doll. It survives mainly in older writing on church furnishings, where the setting makes clear that neither the ship's stern nor the nursery word is meant.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Poop was a name for a carved finial on a church pew end, synonymous with poppyhead. en.wiktionary.org
- The origin is uncertain, with French poupe, meaning a ship's stern, and poupée, meaning a doll, proposed as sources. en.wiktionary.org
- The architectural sense occurs in older writing on church furnishings. archive.org
- 11Ellipsis of YouTube poop: a surreal comic video made by chopping up and remixing existing clips.
- 12Of a wave, to break over the stern of a vessel; of a vessel, to take a wave over its stern.
- 13The noise heard when a steam engine whistles, usually at a low pitch.
Two minutes passed - five - seven - ten. "Poop! Poop!" Everyone knew that whistle, and a mighty cheer went up as the Queen's train glided into the station.
2001, Rev. W. Awdry, Thomas the tank engine collection : a unique collection of stories from the railway series - p. 157 - Egmont Books
Showing meanings only.
More uses
- poop outto stop working, or to become too tired to go on
Practice
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Origins
Where this word comes from is uncertain. It may come from Middle English poupen, a verb for making a gulping noise while drinking, for blowing a horn, or for tooting. Compare Dutch poepen ("to defecate") and German Low German pupen ("to fart"). Another possibility is that it represents poo said with the mouth snapping shut at the end.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- The origin of poop is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
- Poop may derive from Middle English poupen, meaning to make a gulping sound while drinking, blow a horn, or toot. en.wiktionary.org
- Dutch poepen means to defecate and is comparable to poop. en.wiktionary.org
- German Low German pupen means to fart and is comparable to poop. en.wiktionary.org
- Poop may represent poo pronounced with the mouth snapping shut at the end. en.wiktionary.org
The earliest record of this meaning is from 1941, when World War II soldiers used the slang term poop sheet ("up-to-date information"). No one is sure where that term came from, though it may allude to toilet paper (see etymology 1).
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Soldiers used 'poop sheet' as slang in 1941 during World War II. americansoldierww2.org
- 'Poop sheet' is associated with the meaning 'up-to-date information'. en.wiktionary.org
- The term's origin is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
- The term may allude to toilet paper and the excrement sense. en.wiktionary.org
Of uncertain origin, perhaps imitative of a sound.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The origin of "poop" meaning to tire or exhaust is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
- Imitation of a sound is a proposed origin. en.wiktionary.org
Latin puppis gave Vulgar Latin *puppa, then Italian poppa, then Old French pope, poupe, and finally Middle English poupe, pope. Every one of these meant "stern of a ship."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Latin puppis gave Vulgar Latin *puppa, which became Italian poppa. en.wiktionary.org
- Italian poppa gave Old French pope, poupe, which became Middle English poupe, pope. en.wiktionary.org
- All the listed forms meant 'stern of a ship'. en.wiktionary.org
Of uncertain origin, perhaps a shortening of nincompoop.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The origin of poop meaning a stupid or ineffectual person is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
- Poop in this sense may be a shortening of nincompoop. en.wiktionary.org
Likely from French poupe; see poppyhead.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Poop meaning a poppyhead finial likely derives from French poupe. en.wiktionary.org
- Poppyhead is a related term relevant to this origin. en.wiktionary.org