stamp
/stamp
/verb [with object]
1Bring down (one’s foot) heavily on the ground or on something on the ground: he stamped his foot in frustration [no object]: he threw his cigarette down and stamped on it figurative Robertson stamped on all these suggestions...
- Jeter, pouting and petulant, stamped his feet and flung his hat around in the dugout.
- Madelaine Hudson sang and played guitar, accompanied by African drums and pennywhistle, then a group of belly dancers from Orbost got the crowd clapping their hands and stamping their feet.
- His feet stamped hard on the ground, like a steady beat of the drum issuing a warning.
1.1 [with object and adverbial] Crush, flatten, or remove with a heavy blow from one’s foot: she stamped the snow from her boots...
- He tried to stamp it out and friends were trying to waft it out.
- There was a small fire, as only one of the devices had exploded, and they were able to stamp it out.
- As she walked into the corridor of the flat she saw a spark on the carpet and stamped it out but when she pushed back the part-open bedroom door she saw flames licking the furniture and her belongings.
Synonyms
trample, step, tread, tramp;
crush, squash, flatten
1.2 [no object, with adverbial of direction] Walk with heavy, forceful steps: John stamped off, muttering...
- And, you know, they're always walking out and stamping out and tearing up agreements and all that.
- I turned and walked - okay, stamped - rather sulkily down the beach.
- So tomorrow I will bring it to work, put it in a common area, mutter LAWYERS and stamp off scowling.
Synonyms
stomp, stump, clomp, clump, tramp, thunder, lumber, trudge;
Scottish & Northern Irish sprauchle
2Impress a pattern or mark on (a surface, object, or document) using an engraved or inked block or die: the woman stamped my passport...
- Once bowls are tested by an official tester, they will be stamped with an oval logo inside. which is the number 11.
- Lay the fabric over the design, and stamp the fabric in areas to complement the embroidery.
- The metallic surface has been stamped and antiqued using Adirondack Alcohol inks.
Synonyms
imprint, print, impress, punch, inscribe, engrave, chase, etch, carve, emboss, deboss, brand, frank, mark, label
2.1Impress (a pattern or mark) with an engraved or inked block or die: a key with a number stamped on the shaft figurative it’s one of those records that has ‘classic’ stamped all over it...
- Her image is seen stamped on every moon cake, and artefact connected to the festival.
- At present all meat products that can be exported have an oval mark stamped on the carcass by the Meat Hygiene Service.
- The boy turned towards the door on the left wall and ran the bar code that was stamped on the bottom of the ticket under a box-like thing that jutted out of the wall.
Synonyms
fix, inscribe, etch, carve, imprint, impress, register
2.2Make (something) by cutting it out with a die or mould: the knives are stamped out from a flat strip of steel...
- Hollow-back shovels are usually stamped from a metal sheet that's rolled over to create a depression called a frog.
- Meireles's marionette is stamped from thin rubber and was suspended from a rotating rod at the ceiling.
- Some bills are stamped from playful denominations carved into insulation boards.
2.3Reveal or mark out as having a particular quality or ability: his style stamps him as a player to watch...
- By working in some 2,600 consecutive contests, he was stamped as the "Iron Man" of the umpires.
- As happens to most men of such quality who attack the accepted smugness and intellectual sloth of their times, he was stamped as a perverse pugnacious fellow who delighted in being against the wisdom of the age.
Synonyms
identify, characterize, brand, distinguish, mark out, set apart, single out, designate, categorize, classify
3Fix a postage stamp or stamps on to (a letter): Annie stamped the envelope for her...
- On August 31, 2001, Kitty stamped her last letter as postmistress of the local post office.
- They then have to be folded and put into envelopes to be stamped.
- We have no idea of Joe's medical history, but were we to see his files, they would be stamped in bold, red letters: SANE.
4Crush or pulverize (ore).The ore was stamped fine, roasted, and amalgamated in combination pans without grinding....
- The simplest tariffs are those applying to ores which are treated in a stamp-mill, where the ore is stamped, passed over amalgamated plates where the gold is extracted to as large an extent as possible, and the tailing treated on concentrating tallies.
noun
1An instrument for stamping a pattern or mark, in particular an engraved or inked block or die.Hathaway used a variety of stamps to mark his tools....
- Another advantage is that you can actually group stamps on the same block and print them together.
- The block stamp was placed on the reverse of the DN to avoid obscuring clinical information on the face.
1.1A mark or pattern made by a stamp, especially one indicating official validation: passports with visa stamps figurative the emperor gave them his stamp of approval...
- You receive numerous documents with official looking stamps, seals and logo testifying to the authenticity of the proposal.
- It's all very safe, and given the stamp of official approval.
- You've really given the stamp of official approval to one expert when in fact he might be totally wrong in his approach, and then once again, he has to be subjected to challenge if necessary.
1.2A characteristic or distinctive impression or quality: the whole project has the stamp of authority even the least expensive movie bore the stamp of the studio’s plush style...
- The courts in this country, besides, have put their final stamp of authority on the authenticity of her citizenship.
- The vessels they made out of clay had the stamp of genius.
- The recording is excellent and the performance has the stamp of authenticity.
Synonyms
mark, hallmark, indication, label, brand, tag, badge, characteristics, peculiarity, attribute, sign, seal, sure sign, telltale sign, quality, smack, smell, savour, air
1.3A particular class or type of person or thing: empiricism of this stamp has been especially influential in British philosophy...
- People of this stamp certainly look better outwardly than the immoral and profane, and yet, perhaps, are more thoroughly deceived by the great adversary of souls.
- It is the plan of men of this stamp to frighten the people with ideal bugbears, in order to mould them to their own purposes.
Synonyms
type, kind, sort, variety, class, category, classification, style, description, condition, calibre, status, quality, nature, manner;
design, shape, form, pattern, group, set, bracket, genre, species, rank, genus, family, order, breed, race, strain, generation, vintage, make, model, brand, ilk, kidney, cast, grain, mould;
North American stripe
2A small adhesive piece of paper stuck to something to show that an amount of money has been paid, in particular a postage stamp: a first-class stamp TV licence stamps...
- And Sue Brazier, who is a lollipop lady outside Beechcroft Junior School, has offered to stick stamps onto the cards for anybody who doesn't have time to do it themselves.
- The stranger asked me to write my phone number on the card, then added an address and stuck on a stamp.
- Eventually I had a variety of stamps stuck on the brown envelope.
3An act or sound of stamping with the foot: the stamp of boots on the bare floor...
- He heard the steps of delicate feet, the stamp of the horses' hooves, and then a sound like silk sliding against silk.
- Through dance, from the uncut stamp of rustic feet in twilight dust to the sophisticated Bharatanatyam with its own highly complex grammar, Indians shared stories.
- With a stamp of his feet and a final blast at his bosses he was gone.
4A block for crushing ore in a stamp mill.Work was immediately started, and the 300 additional stamps were dropping in May, 1890, thus making a total of 540 stamps crushing ore from the Treadwell mine....
- In all forms of stamps the crushing is done by the blow struck by a pestle or stamp upon the rock which is resting in a mortar.
Phrases
stamp one's authority (or personality or style etc.) on
Phrasal verbs
stamp something out
Derivatives
stamper
- None of the machines is an efficient stamper of letters of varying sizes and thickness; but when letters are all of one character, posted by some big commercial firm, the machines do their work rapidly and satisfactorily.
- The process-oriented suppliers such as metal stampers and plastic molders are especially plagued by underutilized equipment capacity.
- Many of these artists were doing these projects in specialty magazines for the art community but were ready to challenge the stampers in the craft industry.
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'crush to a powder'): of Germanic origin; related to German stampfen 'stamp with the foot'; reinforced by Old French estamper 'to stamp'. Compare with stomp.