as in informant
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
the FBI finally got a break when one of the mob boss's top henchmen turned stool pigeon
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stool pigeon
Russo turned stool pigeon within a month of his November 2017 arrest for selling a kilo of cocaine to an undercover agent.
—
John Annese, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2025
They are barred from using certain language during debates including git, guttersnipe, swine and stool pigeon.
—Max Colchester, WSJ, 3 Jan. 2019
John Annese, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2025
They are barred from using certain language during debates including git, guttersnipe, swine and stool pigeon.
—Max Colchester, WSJ, 3 Jan. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stool pigeon
Noun
-
Supporting characters also left their mark, most notably Antonio Fargas as Huggy Bear, the streetwise informant who balanced comic relief with genuine charm.—
Marc Berman,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
In 1985, Tortora was accused by several alleged ex-mobsters turned informants and state witnesses of being part of a Neapolitan crime syndicate dedicated to drug trafficking.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Frizer and Skeres were fraudsters, and the sinister Poley was an informer, crucial to the exposure of the Babington Plot.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Option 2: If one prisoner informs while the other stays silent, the informer will go free while the silent one receives the harshest sentence.—
Michael Ashley,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
Noun
-
The insurance crisis is the canary in the coal mine for the climate crisis, and the canary is dying.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
-
The record number of defaults is a canary in the coal mine for large-scale economic problems, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) warned.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Below, newlywed and habitual gym rat Jeff Bezos, looking mighty fit on the arm of his telegenic bride Lauren Sanchez, channels his very best Saturday Night Fever Tony Manero, as played by John Travolta.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
So does his intensity and gym-rat work ethic.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The changes follow the announcement earlier this week that crew members would be required to submit deep throat saliva samples at Hong Kong International Airport.—
Julia Horowitz,
CNN,
9 July 2020
-
The airlines dropped flights to the city after Hong Kong’s health authority mandated new deep throat testing and quarantine rules for anyone flying there, including possible mandatory hospitalization for anyone that tests positive for COVID-19.—
Dallas News,
Dallas News,
9 July 2020
Noun
-
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY.—
Gabe Hauari,
USA Today,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Shomik Mukherjee is a reporter covering Oakland.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
20 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stool pigeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stool%20pigeon. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share