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cudgel

[ kuhj-uhl ]
/ ˈkʌdʒ əl /
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See synonyms for: cudgel / cudgeled / cudgeling / cudgelled on Thesaurus.com

noun
a short, thick stick used as a weapon; club.
verb (used with object), cudg·eled, cudg·el·ing, or (especially British) cudg·elled, cudg·el·ling.
to strike with a cudgel; beat.
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Idioms about cudgel

    cudgel one's brains, to try to comprehend or remember: I cudgeled my brains to recall her name.
    take up the cudgels, to come to the defense or aid of someone or something.

Origin of cudgel

before 900; Middle English cuggel,Old English cycgel; akin to German Kugel ball

OTHER WORDS FROM cudgel

cudg·el·er; especially British, cud·gel·ler, nounun·cudg·eled, adjectiveun·cudg·elled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cudgel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cudgel

cudgel
/ (ˈkʌdʒəl) /

noun
a short stout stick used as a weapon
take up the cudgels (often foll by for or on behalf of) to join in a dispute, esp to defend oneself or another
verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled
(tr) to strike with a cudgel or similar weapon
cudgel one's brains to think hard about a problem

Derived forms of cudgel

cudgeller, noun

Word Origin for cudgel

Old English cycgel; related to Middle Dutch koghele stick with knob
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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