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

The Flying Stag Located inside The Fife Arms, The Flying Stag is an ode to the hotel’s former life as a hunting lodge. —Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 3 May 2025

The Hammer & The Rose culminates in an ode to Andersen’s father, who’s now 77. —Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 30 Apr. 2025

And the chrome panels that line the hallway are an ode to the Pantheon grille that caps the front of every Rolls-Royce model. —Scotty Reiss, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025

Opening a year after the master couturier’s death, the show was an ode to his decades-long career; Vreeland even spritzed Balenciaga perfume throughout the galleries. —Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 28 Apr. 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"