fodder

noun

fod·​der ˈfä-dər How to pronounce fodder (audio)
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
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
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.
Yet if the mission is to make Wallen even more ubiquitous — constantly near the top of New Music Friday, always with multiple songs lingering around the top of the Hot 100, with plenty of headlines and new fodder for country radio — then this rollout has largely been a win for him. Katie Atkinson, Billboard, 30 Apr. 2025 The Mets’ winning streak came to an end Friday night at Nationals Park, but the controversy surrounding will undoubtedly provide a few days of fodder. Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2025 Livestock should be moved to clean pastures or given uncontaminated fodder. David Kitchen, The Conversation, 15 Apr. 2025 And Episode 1 gave us plenty of fodder for discussion. Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 13 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fodder

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English fōdor; akin to Old High German fuotar food — more at food

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fodder was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fodder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fodder. Accessed 5 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

fodder

noun
fod·​der ˈfäd-ər How to pronounce fodder (audio)
: coarse dry food (as cornstalks) for livestock

More from Merriam-Webster on fodder

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