rod

rod

noun \ˈräd\

Definition of ROD

1

a (1) : a straight slender stick growing on or cut from a tree or bush (2) : osier (3) : a stick or bundle of twigs used to punish; also : punishment (4) : a shepherd's cudgel (5) : a pole with a line and usually a reel attached for fishing b (1) : a slender bar (as of wood or metal) (2) : a bar or staff for measuring (3) : scepter; also : a wand or staff carried as a badge of office (as of marshal)

2

a : a unit of length — see weight table b : a square rod

3

: any of the long rod-shaped photosensitive receptors in the retina responsive to faint light — compare cone 3a

4

: a rod-shaped bacterium

5

slang : handgun

— rod·less \-ləs\ adjective

— rod·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

Examples of ROD

1. <arrested for using a rod on his dogs in violation of the state's animal cruelty laws>

Origin of ROD

Middle English, from Old English rodd; akin to Old Norse rudda club

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to ROD

Synonyms: bastinado (or bastinade), bat, baton, billy, billy club, bludgeon, cane, cudgel, nightstick, club, rung [Scottish], sap, shillelagh (also shillalah), staff, truncheon, waddy [Australian]

Related Words: blackjack, knobkerrie, mace; birch, crabstick, hickory, rattan, stave, switch; beetle, gavel, hammer, mallet, maul, sledgehammer; crook, crosier (or crozier), walking stick, whangee

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Hunting and Fishing Terms

chum, covert, creel, flense, pitfall, seine, skulk, spoor, trawl

Rhymes with ROD

bod, clod, fade, Fahd, gaud, god, hod, mod, nod, od, odd, plod, pod, prod, quad, quod, scrod, shod, sod, squad, tod, wad