take the stump

verb

To make a series of political speeches, especially to promote a particular cause.

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Meanings

verbtake the stump (third-person singular simple present takes the stump, present participle taking the stump, simple past took the stump, past participle taken the stump)

present singular third person takes the stump · participle present taking the stump · past took the stump · participle past taken the stump

  1. USTo make a series of political speeches, especially to promote a particular cause.

    Still calling himself a Whig, Lincoln took the stump in behalf of anti-Nebraska candidates for the legislature, hoping that victory would forge a legislative majority to elect him to the U. S. Senate.

    1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry for Freedom, Oxford, published 2003, page 127
Cite this entry
APA

take the stump. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20stump

MLA

“take the stump.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20stump. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take the stump,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20stump.

Source: take the stump on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.