bode
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to be an omen of; portend.
The news bodes evil days for him.
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Archaic. to announce beforehand; predict.
verb (used without object)
verb
verb
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to be an omen of (good or ill, esp of ill); portend; presage
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archaic (tr) to predict; foretell
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bode
before 1000; Middle English boden, Old English bodian to announce, foretell (cognate with Old Norse botha ), derivative of boda messenger, cognate with German Bote, Old Norse bothi
Explanation
The verb bode suggests forecasting. Something bodes well when the clues or signs imply a favorable outcome. But if something bodes ill, you’d better watch out! Something might bode good fortune, or it could bode disaster. The word, which can be traced back to the Old English bodian, "to announce, foretell," is also found in the adjective foreboding, which means "ominous, boding ill."
Vocabulary lists containing bode
Romeo and Juliet
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Othello
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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.
See Examples For:
Still, the Evercore team think that investors’ desire to continue betting on the AI boom may bode ill for some of those stocks that have been struggling of late.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
Clear communication has been a major challenge with the Tatas, which does not bode well for the public markets, according to Dalal.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
The results should bode well for both investors’ and borrowers’ confidence in the financial system.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
That just doesn’t bode well for the future — it’s paying off in the present too.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
“This does not bode well for Germany,” warned Bert’s father.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
All of that boded badly for high-flying names like Sandisk and Micron, as some of 2026’s biggest winners became this selloff’s big losers.
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
The images boded ill for Mountain High, but as the night wore on, the resort’s fate remained a mystery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2024
“The shift towards normality after the pandemic has overall boded well for global livability in 2023,” said Upasana Dutt, head of the livability index at EIU.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2023
Although it was good news for the economy, it boded ill for the market in the short term because "after all, it diverts capital away from Shanghai and Shenzhen markets."
From Reuters ● Sep. 3, 2021
So the Isle-Men of Low Torning had sent to Roke begging for a wizard to protect their folk from what boded over the western horizon, and the Archmage had judged their fear well founded.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
He also sees DSV’s faster-than-expected integration of DB Schenker as boding well for CargoWise, with the additional volumes supporting his expectation of a 2H skew to WiseTech’s results.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
You can go on and on with comparisons, but something big boding in favor of this season’s team is the likelihood of Daccord maintaining his numbers beyond the streak.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2024
Real wages adjusted for inflation fell in July for a 16th straight month in a sign households continued to feel the pinch from rising prices, separate data showed, boding ill for consumption.
From Reuters ● Sep. 8, 2023
A simplified prototype of the experiment that operates at room temperature is already remarkably sensitive, boding well for the final Archimedes apparatus's performance.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 29, 2023
Full well the boding tremblers learned to trace The day’s disaster in his morning face.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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.
