ode

1 of 2

noun

ˈōd 

plural odes

1

: a lyric poem usually marked by exaltation of feeling and style, varying length of line, and complexity of stanza forms

Keats's ode "To a Nightingale"

2

: something that shows respect for or celebrates the worth or influence of another : homage

The museum would be an ode to visual storytelling, drawn from the director's collection of film ephemera and fine art.

—Chanan Tigay

The recipe is an ode to my homeland, Vietnam, and I'd like to share it with my new friends in America.

—Gourmet

odist

ˈō-dist 

noun

-ode

2 of 2

noun combining form

1

: way : path

electrode

2

: electrode

diode

Examples of ode in a Sentence

Noun

This poem is titled, “An Ode to My Mother.”

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Otherwise, a spectacle that’s supposed to be an ode to the power of Hollywood hokum simply becomes the minor-key embodiment of it. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025

On the penultimate track of the album, Aviance brings together all of the references and influences that helped shape his career and creates a stunning ode to the resilience and power of the LGBTQ+ community of the past, the present and the future. —Stephen Daw, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2025

Read more of writer Brian Grubb’s ode to season two’s secret weapon here. —Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025

That is because Deadline is checking out the follow-up to John Morton’s BAFTA-winning BBC satirical comedies Twenty Twelve and W1A, shows that have landed cult status for their excruciating ode to Britishness and in-depth examination of the behind-the-scenes machinations of public institutions. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French, from Late Latin, from Greek ōidē, literally, song, from aeidein, aidein to sing; akin to Greek audē voice

Noun combining form

Greek -odos, from hodos

First Known Use

Noun

1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ode

• blowed
• bode
• code
• crowed
• flowed
• glowed
• goad
• growed
• knowed
• load
• lode
• lowed

Kids Definition

ode

1 of 2 noun

ˈōd 

: a lyric poem that expresses a noble feeling with dignity

-ode

2 of 2 noun combining form

ˌōd

1

: way : path

electrode

2

: electrode

diode

Etymology

Noun combining form

derived from Greek hodos "way, path"