fodder

1 of 4

noun (1)

fod·​der ˈfä-dər 

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

fother

2 of 4

noun (2)

foth·​er

ˈfät͟hə(r)

variants or fodder

-ädə- 

plural -s

1

now dialectal, England : load

especially : wagonload

2

: any of various units of weight for lead

especially : a modern unit equal to 19½ hundredweights

fother

3 of 4

"

dialectal variant of fodder

fother

4 of 4

transitive verb

"

-ed/-ing/-s

: to cover (a sail or piece of canvas) especially with oakum or rope yarn for use in temporarily stopping a leak in the hull of a ship

Examples of fodder in a Sentence

Noun (1)

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

Noun

Successful rom-coms about magazine staffers named Andy or Andie have become popular fodder for sequels as Hollywood continues to prioritize nostalgia. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026

Where models driven for 100,000 miles would have been considered junkyard fodder back in the 1960s and ‘70s, contemporary models can run for 200,000 or more miles if properly maintained. — Jim Gorzelany, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

JonBenét’s involvement in beauty pageants became fodder for tabloids, suspicion surrounded her parents even after they had been cleared as suspects, and numerous theories developed regarding who killed her. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2026

All of these recordings become fodder for social media, opening up the people in his recordings, including his fellow students, to online laughter and further bullying. — Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 19 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

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

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Old English fōther; akin to Old High German fuodar cartload, Old English fæthm embracing or outstretched arms

Transitive verb

probably modification of Low German fodern to line, from Middle Low German vōderen, from vōder lining; akin to Gothic fodr sheath

First Known Use

Noun (1)

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

Phrases Containing fodder

• cannon fodder

Rhymes for fodder

• broader
• dodder
• odder
• solder
• marauder

Kids Definition

fodder

noun

fod·​der ˈfäd-ər 

: coarse dry food (as cornstalks) for livestock