clod

noun

ˈkläd How to pronounce clod (audio)
Definition of clodnext
1
as in hulk
a big clumsy often slow-witted person despite his imposing size, he's no simple clod

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in chunk
a small uneven mass a clod of dirt stuck to the bottom of the bucket

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in soil
the loose surface material in which plants naturally grow faced with the task of burying his beloved wife in the cold, hard clod of the frontier

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of clod It may also be connected to words like clod and clot, all suggesting something compact, heavy, or clustered together. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2026 Maybe she is confused by this flat new geography of polished wood and granite with no trace of lumps or clods, where nothing is spongy. — María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026 The result was a dry product not unlike clod. — J.c. Reid, Houston Chronicle, 28 Feb. 2026 But that’s just one clod’s opinion. — New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for clod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clod
  1. hulk
  2. chunk
  3. soil
  4. lump
  5. hunk
  6. dirt
  7. loser
  8. clump
Noun
  • Water levels on the Danube River, the second longest in Europe, have dropped so low because of drought that the hulks of dozens of World War II German battleships — and even the remains of an ancient woolly mammoth — are emerging into view.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026
  • In the film, Russell wants a hulk of a man but doesn’t care about money, while Monroe transparently is looking for a man who can fuel her desire for diamonds.
    — Rance Collins, Entertainment Weekly, 17 July 2026
Definition of hulk
Noun
  • The Steelers outgained Green Bay 385-160 and collected yardage in huge chunks at times on plays that had receivers running wide open against a vanilla defense more focused on fundamentals than elaborate schemes for a game that didn't count.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Mendoza then led the Raiders down the field on his final drive with chunk passes to Dareke Young, Brandon Johnson and Dylan Laube before nearly missing Deven Thompkins in the end zone on his last pass of the night.
    — Sam Warren, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of chunk
Noun
  • After the season’s first international break, West Ham will face another London side, Queens Park Rangers, on home soil on October 9.
    — Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Another recurring ingredient is goopher dust, which consists of soil collected from graveyards.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of soil
Noun
  • With this approach, creditors are asked to accept less than the amount owed in return for a lump-sum payment.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • In 2024, a group of scientists reported that lumps of metal on the Pacific seafloor—which happened to be the target of seabed-mining operations—seemed to be producing dark oxygen.
    — James Dinneen, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of lump
Noun
  • True to form, the story is narrated by an unscrupulous wanna-be novelist named Bret Easton Ellis (Igby Rigney), a closet case lusting away for the new hunk at his cruel prep school.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Use your hands to break the block of tofu into craggy hunks (about the size of strawberries).
    — Ali Francis, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 July 2026
Definition of hunk
Noun
  • Astronomer and space historian Jonathan McDowell says that many rocket stages and other objects left in orbit between Earth and the moon since the first lunar missions in the 1960s may have ended up on the gray dirt.
    — Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Gatwood hoped to put in a new fence and was raking some rocks and dirt to make the yard smoother.
    — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of dirt
Noun
  • The losers of the quarterfinals can still secure a spot in the Women's World Cup.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Critics, including some Republicans and economists, warn against the state picking winners and losers.
    — James K. Glassman, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of loser
Noun
  • Excessive clumps on the surface of the lawn can smother new seedlings, Mann says.
    — Amanda Tust, Architectural Digest, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Lipofuscin is essentially cellular garbage (clumps of oxidized proteins and fats that cells can no longer break down).
    — Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of clump

Browse Nearby Words

clockwise
clod
cloddish
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Clod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clod. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on clod

Nglish: Translation of clod for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All