fodder

fod·der | \ ˈfä-dər

How to pronounce fodder (audio)

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Definition of fodder

1 : something fed to domestic animals especially : coarse food for cattle, horses, or sheep

2 : inferior or readily available material used to supply a heavy demand fodder for tabloids This sort of breezy plot line has become cheap fodder for novelists and screenwriters …— Sally Bedell

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Examples of fodder in a Sentence

His antics always make good fodder for the gossip columnists. She often used her friends' problems as fodder for her novels.

Recent Examples on the Web The bad blood between these two top-ranking U.S. leaders goes beyond just entertainment fodder — it's elicited some of the most intense political quarrels (and low-brow jokes) perhaps in history. — Brianna Provenzano, refinery29.com, "A Timeline Of Donald Trump & Nancy Pelosi’s Intense Feud," 13 Jan. 2020 The show is a throwback to the age of gender-bender comedies — when the idea of crossing the gender binary was seen as mere joke fodder and not a crucial matter of personal identity. — Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, "'AJ and the Queen': TV Review," 10 Jan. 2020 The risk now is that uncertainties about how close the Iranians are to their first weapon will grow, and perhaps become fodder for calls in the United States and Israel to take military action. — David E. Sanger, BostonGlobe.com, "Iran challenges Trump, announcing end of nuclear restrictions," 5 Jan. 2020 The music and the lights and post-workout drinks all sound like perfect fodder for Instagram. — Rebecca Brown, Glamour, "Workout Classes Have Lost Their F*cking Minds," 2 Jan. 2020 From a critical look at Disney tales to poetry to a podcast that’ll get the kids in the carpool group interested in science, here’s a curated list of the podcasts that’ll make perfect earbud fodder for 2020. — Lila Thulin, Smithsonian Magazine, "Eighteen Podcasts to Listen to in 2020," 25 Dec. 2019 Make a point of attending outings with him, such as going to sporting events, concerts, botanical gardens, museums -- activities that will offer conversation fodder besides the same old, same old. — oregonlive, "Dear Annie: How do I get my brother to stop talking about his job all the time?," 15 Dec. 2019 The Browns are always good fodder for conversation in Northeast Ohio, but the season and the parade amped up the volume. — Mary Kilpatrick, cleveland, "Ebola terrifies Northeast Ohio, Johnny Football comes to town: Biggest talkers of the 2010s," 30 Dec. 2019 The previous record for the College Football Playoff semifinals was also four, and was set by Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa last season in the Orange Bowl against, of course, perennial SEC-cannon-fodder Oklahoma. — Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, "Originally built to beat Alabama, LSU is headed to the national championship," 29 Dec. 2019

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

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Last Updated

18 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Fodder.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fodder. Accessed 19 January 2020.

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