goad
Americannoun
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a stick with a pointed or electrically charged end, for driving cattle, oxen, etc.; prod.
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anything that pricks or wounds like such a stick.
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something that encourages, urges, or drives; a stimulus.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a sharp pointed stick for urging on cattle, etc
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anything that acts as a spur or incitement
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has goadedperfect 3rd person singular
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have goadedperfect
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am goadingprogressive 1st person singular
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is goadingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been goadingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been goadingperfect progressive
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are goadingprogressive
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goadssingular 3rd person
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goadingparticiple
Past
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had goadedperfect
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was goadingprogressive singular
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were goadingprogressive plural
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had been goadingperfect progressive
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goadedparticiple
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goadedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of goad
before 900; Middle English gode, Old English gād; compare Langobardic gaida spearhead
Explanation
A goad is a pointy stick or other instrument used to prod something along. To goad is to poke something with that pointy stick. Either way, the pointiness is really essential for making things leap into action. Originally spelled gad, meaning “spearhead,” goad first came into use as a verb in the 1570s. But say you left your pointy goading stick at home. Have no fear! You can goad people with words, too. Literally or figuratively, a goad prods and pokes and provokes people into doing something. A sheep herder might hustle his flock along with a goad, just as your mom's constant nagging and goading might finally get you sit up straight at the dinner table.
Vocabulary lists containing goad
Lord of the Flies
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Grade 11, List 2
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
New brand chief Michelle Goad is focusing Claire’s on older tweens as part of her strategy to turn a dusty accessories store into a temple of Gen Alpha girldom.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
“The mistake that I see often is this idea of telling young girls what to do, versus listening and sharing back,” Goad said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026
Goad was one of the first hires made by Claire’s new owner, the private-equity firm Ames Watson, which last September bought the chain for $140 million out of its second bankruptcy.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026
“It’s very likely it would be challenged if it were actually enacted,” Goad said.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2025
Our most spectacular fight, and our most audacious tactical victory—the Battle of Little Hobart Street—took place against Ernie Goad and his friends when I was ten and Brian was nine.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
