stamp
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Device or block; also, small piece.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
stampIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈstæmp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A device for imprinting designs.
A small piece of paper, with a design and a face value, used to prepay postage or other dues such as tax or licence fees.
A small piece of paper bearing a design on one side and adhesive on the other, used to decorate letters or craft work.
A block or die used to imprint a mark or design
An act of stamping the foot, paw or hoof.
A kind of heavy pestle, raised by water or steam power, for crushing ores.
verb
Walk heavily
transitive
To mark by pressing quickly and heavily.
transitive
To give an official marking to, generally by impressing or imprinting a design or symbol.
intransitive
To step quickly and heavily, once or repeatedly.
transitive
To strike, beat, or press forcibly with the bottom of the foot, or by thrusting the foot downward.
To mark, or produce an imprint in or on something
“A man whose name is permanently stamped on our maps.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A device for imprinting designs.
Used this way, stamp is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- pigeonhole , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use stamp
- “His playing stamps him as a Romantic.”verb
- “A man whose name is permanently stamped on our maps.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A workman whose job is to form or cut out by applying a mold or die (either by hand or by operating a stamping machine).
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A series of stamps operated in one mortar for crushing ores.
The collection and study of postage stamps.
A collection of stamps.
A collector and student of postage stamps.
A dealer in stamps (whose customers are stamp collectors).
Bring under control by force or authority.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: device for imprinting designs
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.