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
Sally Bedell
fodder
transitive verb
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
That became bulletin board fodder.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Where Lil Boosie and Kevin Gates are hometown heroes, two artists who are direct ancestors for YoungBoy’s style, YoungBoy is more notorious, fodder for the gossip shows and the minor podcasts that infiltrate their way onto your timeline.
—Jayson Buford, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
The weekly blowout tipped heavily in the Patriots’ favor, as the Panthers, following a 30-0 home debut in Week 3, looked — once again — like NFL fodder.
—Mike Kaye
september 28, Charlotte Observer, 28 Sep. 2025
The reasons are too complicated to get into here but would certainly provide plenty of fodder for a future season of House of Guiness, should Stephen Knight turn it into a multigenerational story that wades into Middle East politics.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fodder
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Where Lil Boosie and Kevin Gates are hometown heroes, two artists who are direct ancestors for YoungBoy’s style, YoungBoy is more notorious, fodder for the gossip shows and the minor podcasts that infiltrate their way onto your timeline.
—Jayson Buford, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
The weekly blowout tipped heavily in the Patriots’ favor, as the Panthers, following a 30-0 home debut in Week 3, looked — once again — like NFL fodder.
—Mike Kaye
september 28, Charlotte Observer, 28 Sep. 2025
The reasons are too complicated to get into here but would certainly provide plenty of fodder for a future season of House of Guiness, should Stephen Knight turn it into a multigenerational story that wades into Middle East politics.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fodder
Cite this Entry
“Fodder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fodder. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fodder
noun
fod·der
ˈfäd-ər 
: coarse dry food (as cornstalks) for livestock
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share