cod

noun \ ˈkäd \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Definition of cod

plural cod also cods

1 : any of various bottom-dwelling fishes (family Gadidae, the cod family) that usually occur in cold marine waters and often have barbels and three dorsal fins: such as

a : one (Gadus morhua) of the North Atlantic that is an important food fish

b : one (Gadus macrocephalus) of the Pacific Ocean

2 : any of various bony fishes resembling the true cods

See cod defined for English-language learners

See cod defined for kids

Recent Examples of cod from the Web

Soaring ceilings and white leather booths over more excitement than the menu: Black cod arrives expertly poached, but its curry sauce tastes like creamer.

— garrett snyder, Los Angeles Magazine, "4 New Restaurants to Try Right Now," 28 Aug. 2017
One of the best things on offer is the ceviche from Mazunte: nothing but protein-rich cod marinated in lime juice with bits of jalapeno and tomato.

— polly campbell, Cincinnati.com, "Serving tennis balls and food at Western & Southern Open," 14 Aug. 2017
But the people who munched on that dried cod roughly 1,000 years ago were living under Danish rule in a cosmopolitan port city.

— annalee newitz, Ars Technica, "1,000-year-old German dinner reveals long-distance Viking trade routes," 7 Aug. 2017
Book a private dinner in the estate’s blue-tiled dining room for regional specialties like sopa alentejana de tomate (tomato bread soup) and bacalhau fresco (fresh cod) paired with the estate’s wines.

— laura giannatempo, CNT, "Why You Should Visit Alentejo, Portugal's Underrated Wine Region," 21 July 2017
King Cove officials keep a list of the medical evacuations by plane or boat to Cold Bay, an exhaustive catalogue of suffering and treatment delays for problems like fractures, heart problems and a fisherman crushed by a 600-pound cod trap.

— nathaniel herz, Alaska Dispatch News, "Can the isolated Alaska Peninsula town of King Cove get its road under the Trump administration?," 18 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cod.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of cod

Middle English

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

cod

abbreviation

Definition of cod

codex

See cod defined for kids

Recent Examples of cod from the Web

The beasts tend to make clicking and buzzing sounds while in the deep sea, about 700 to 2,000 feet down, and buzzed quite a bit in one particular fjord, likely using echolocation while hunting shrimp and cod.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Researchers Record the Sounds of the Elusive Narwhal," 15 June 2018
Vitamin D is also found in a few foods: cod liver oil, fatty fish like salmon, tuna, egg yolks and fortified cereal, milk and orange juice.

— NBC News, "Vitamin D may lower colon cancer risk, especially in women, study finds," 14 June 2018
Fishmonger’s Market’s Baccala salad is piled high with fresh Atlantic salt cod, purple potatoes, garbanzo beans, red onion and a drizzle of olive oil and lemon.

— carolina gusman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Salad takes center stage in May at local restaurants for National Salad Month," 24 May 2018
What's new: A half-dozen dishes recently joined the menu, such as ahi nachos with ponzu and macadamia nuts, grilled cheese with crab claw meat, and a Creole burrito with cod, andouille sausage and crawdads.

— al pierleoni, sacbee, "Where to go for fun and food along Sacramento's Garden Highway | The Sacramento Bee," 18 May 2018
Among the species most affected will be Pacific rockfish, black sea bass, and Atlantic cod, the Rutgers statement said.

— martin finucane, BostonGlobe.com, "Hundreds of fish species will be forced to shift north due to climate change, study says," 16 May 2018
Fried and baked cod, oysters, shrimp, pizza and cake wheel.

— gege reed, The Courier-Journal, "It's fish fry season! Don't miss these 35+ fish fries in Louisville for Lent 2018," 16 Feb. 2018
Models project that the snow crab catch could soon reach 170,000 metric tons a year—potentially bringing in about $1 billion and making it, with Arctic cod, one of the region's most lucrative resources.

— the editors, Scientific American, "Without a Treaty to Share the Arctic, Greedy Countries Will Destroy It," 1 Dec. 2017
Those Sunday morning predictions were the results of frazzled brains contemplating their own exhaustion and mortality and making a bold prediction based on little more than cod-psychology.

— jonathan wilson, SI.com, "Real Madrid Ushered Into Sudden Chaos After Zidane's Resignation," 31 May 2018

COD

abbreviation

Definition of COD

cash on delivery; collect on delivery

See COD defined for English-language learners

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

COD Defined for English Language Learners

cod

noun

Definition of cod for English Language Learners

: a large fish that lives in the northern Atlantic Ocean and is often eaten as food

cod

noun

Definition of cod for English Language Learners

: a large fish that lives in the northern Atlantic Ocean and is often eaten as food

COD Defined for Kids

cod

noun \ ˈkäd \

Definition of cod for Students

plural cod

: a large fish found in the deep colder parts of the northern Atlantic Ocean and often used for food

COD

abbreviation

Definition of COD for Students

1 cash on delivery

2 collect on delivery

Medical Dictionary

cod

noun \ ˈkäd \

medical Definition of cod

plural cod also cods

: any of various bottom-dwelling fishes (family Gadidae, the cod family) that usually occur in cold marine waters and often have barbels and three dorsal fins: as

a : one (Gadus morhua) of the North Atlantic that is an important food fish

b : one (Gadus macrocephalus) of the Pacific Ocean