stoop
n. countablen. a small porch or a set of steps at the front door of a house. It is a common place for people to sit and talk with neighbors.
n. a small porch, platform, or set of stairs at the entrance of a building. Common in North American urban architecture, particularly in New York City.
We sat on the stoop and watched the cars go by.
In many Brooklyn neighborhoods, residents spend summer evenings sitting on the stoop to catch a breeze and chat.
The brownstone's high stone stoop served as a social hub for the building, bridging the private interior of the home with the public life of the sidewalk.
From Middle English stoupen, from Old English stūpian (“to bow, bend”), from Proto-West Germanic stūpōn, from Proto-Germanic stūpōną, stūpijaną (“to stand out”), from Proto-Indo-European (s)tewb- (“to push, butt, knock”). Compare steep. Cognate with Dutch stuipen (“to bend the upper part of the body forward and downward”), Old Norse stúpa (“to stoop”). Related also to Old Frisian stēpa (“to help”), Old Norse steypa (“to cause to stoop, cast down, overthrow”).
From Middle English stope, stoupe, from Old Norse staup (“dip, well, cup”), from Proto-Germanic staupą, related to the verb staupijaną (“to steep”). Related to Old English stēap (“drinking vessel, cup, flagon, stoop”).
Borrowed from Dutch stoep (“platform", "pavement”). Doublet of stoep. Cognate with step.
From Middle English stoupe, stulpe, from Old Norse stólpi (“post, pillar”), from Proto-Germanic *stulpô.
Primarily used in North American English; often refers specifically to the entrance of a townhouse or brownstone.