clod

[ klod ]

noun

1. a lump or mass, especially of earth or clay.
2. a stupid person; blockhead; dolt.

   Synonyms: dunce, oaf, lout, yokel, boor

3. earth; soil.
4. something of lesser dignity or value, as the body as contrasted with the soul:

   this corporeal clod.

5. a part of a shoulder of beef.

clod

/ klɒd /

noun

1. a lump of earth or clay
2. earth, esp when heavy or in hard lumps
3. Also calledclodpoleclod pollclodpate a dull or stupid person
4. a cut of beef taken from the shoulder

Derived Forms

• ˈcloddy, adjective
• ˈcloddishness, noun
• ˈcloddishly, adverb
• ˈcloddish, adjective

Other Words From

• cloddi·ly adverb
• cloddi·ness noun
• clodlike adjective
• cloddy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of clod¹

1400–50; late Middle English clodde, Old English clod- (in clodhamer fieldfare); cloud

Word History and Origins

Origin of clod¹

Old English clod- (occurring in compound words) lump; related to cloud

Example Sentences

In this case, though, exploding bombs and artillery fire fling clods of dirt and dig craters.

From Science News

This well-studied plant is in the same family as mustards and can grow in just a tiny clod of dirt.

From Science News For Students

This well-studied plant is in the same family as mustards and can grow in just a tiny clod of material.

From Science News

Eventually, the carbon that was once a leaf can become trapped in clods of earth.

From Washington Post

One teenager recalled seeing  a boy his age pitch a clod of dirt at a mounted [Union] officer.

From The Daily Beast

The News of the World and the Mirror both went with the punnier, " Hand of Clod."

From The Daily Beast

Darling, don't you see—it's because you aren't a clod, because you're sensitive and imaginative that you experience fear.

From Project Gutenberg

The asphaltus is a clod of earth, liquefied by heat; the air forces it to the surface, where it spreads itself.

From Project Gutenberg

Go over it again and again until not a lump or clod remains in it.

From Project Gutenberg

Do I not daily curse this weak, lust-loving clod of flesh that holdeth prisoner a mind that at least once dreamed noble dreams?

From Project Gutenberg

"I won't become a clod-hopper," I exclaimed, seeing the dreary, endless monotony of such a life.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• clodpoll