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

Clifton's ode "homage to my hips"

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

Both a touching love story and a shining ode to Korean traditions and customs, The Wedding Banquet is evidence that not all remakes are made the same. —Samantha Allen, Them., 17 Nov. 2025

Our Gift of the Day is an ode to those tokens of appreciation and once-a-year indulgences befitting of the season. —Vogue, 17 Nov. 2025

Now, their daughter shares their correspondence, along with rare photographs from a family scrapbook, in a moving ode to her parents' enduring love story that lived on even after their divorce. —Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 15 Nov. 2025

Her speech was an ode to the union between women, female lineages, and conquered freedoms. —Dulce Moncada, Glamour, 14 Nov. 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"