Definition of "stymie" [sty•mie]

• To thwart; stump: a problem in thermodynamics that stymied half the class. (verb-transitive)
• An obstacle or obstruction. (noun)
• Sports A situation in golf in which an opponent's ball obstructs the line of play of one's own ball on the putting green. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "That situation was called a stymie, and the term came to mean any block or obstruction. tee off; teed off To tee off is to begin the play of a hole by driving the ball off the tee."
• "He had a great game, but fortunately we had a balance enough of attack to kind of stymie whatever he was able to do, '' Gordon said."
• "This is a very useful stroke to practise, for the particular kind of stymie to which it applies occurs very frequently, and is one of the most exasperating of all."