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

The increasing apartment vacancy rate and lack of a corresponding drop in rent have given them more fodder. — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 July 2026

Vaniček was responsible for that arachnophobia-nightmare fodder Infested from 2023, and the idea of injecting some late New French Extremity into the Evil Dead bloodstream is tantalizing. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 July 2026

Some combination of LeBron’s first move, the growth of Twitter and the development of morning sports talk shows desperate for conversation fodder helped the NBA turn the quietest sports month into a free agency frenzy. — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 8 July 2026

Heat waves this year, for instance, have dried out vegetation that’s now fodder for fires started by a lightning strike, an errant spark from machinery or arson. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 8 July 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