noun
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a lump of earth or clay
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earth, esp when heavy or in hard lumps
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Also called: clodpole. clod poll. clodpate. a dull or stupid person
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a cut of beef taken from the shoulder
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of clod
1400–50; late Middle English clodde, Old English clod- (in clodhamer fieldfare); see 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."
Vocabulary lists containing clod
The Circuit
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Kindred
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Mexican WhiteBoy
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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.
“Earth” is cleverly personified by the bureaucratic Fern Grouchwood and the feisty Clod.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2023
The Clod Ensemble are at Tate Modern on Monday night with Silver Swan, a piece inspired by a 17th-century madrigal.
From The Guardian • Nov. 16, 2012
Keriakedes — aka "Shmootzi the Clod" — was a highly respected singer-songwriter who learned circus arts such as sword-swallowing.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2012
The dead included Joseph Albanese, 52, a bass player who performed as Meshuguna Joe, and Andrew Keriakedes, 49, a singer known on stage as Schmootzi the Clod, both Beefcake regulars.
From New York Times • Jun. 2, 2012
He was at work one night, doing the sound for a Portland band called Clod, when he just keeled over on the soundboard.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
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.
