clod

American  

[klod] / klɒd /

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.

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clod British  

/ klɒd /

noun

1. a lump of earth or clay

2. earth, esp when heavy or in hard lumps

3. Also called: clodpole.   clod poll.   clodpate.  a dull or stupid person

4. a cut of beef taken from the shoulder

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Other Word Forms

• cloddily adverb
• cloddiness noun
• cloddish adjective
• cloddishly adverb
• cloddishness noun
• cloddy adjective
• clodlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of clod

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

Explanation

A clod is a lump or chunk of something. You begin the process of making a bowl by throwing a clod of clay onto a potter's wheel. Clod usually describes a mass or ball of dirt: "She intended to plant vegetables in her yard, but found the soil was full of hard clods and stones." An annoyingly awkward person can also be called a clod: "He always says the wrong thing — he's such a clod." The word comes from clot, which originally meant "a mass," and comes from the German Klotz, "lump or block."

Example Sentences

Whether it's a twig, a pebble or a clod of dirt, the randomness you get on a large scale is the same.

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2024

To be fair, there is more to Johnson's story than him simply being a clod when it came to dogs.

From Salon • May 20, 2023

In another, weeds frozen under a dusting of snow wilt into a clod of root-tangled soil.

From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2023

The one of Rizzo, which was taken down on June 2, makes him look like a misshapen clod in an awkwardly buttoned jacket.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2020

I passed through the town on my way to the market and somebody threw it — a clod of dung.

From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz

Related Words

• clodpoll