fodder

[ fod-er ]

noun

1. coarse food for livestock, composed of entire plants, including leaves, stalks, and grain, of such forages as corn and sorghum.
2. people considered as readily available and of little value:

   cannon fodder.

3. raw material:

   fodder for a comedian's routine.

verb (used with object)

1. to feed with or as if with fodder.

fodder

/ ˈfɒdə /

noun

1. bulk feed for livestock, esp hay, straw, etc
2. raw experience or material

   fodder for the imagination

verb

1. tr to supply (livestock) with fodder

Word History and Origins

Origin of fodder¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English fodder, fōdor; cognate with German Futter; akin to food

Word History and Origins

Origin of fodder¹

Old English fōdor ; related to Old Norse fōthr , Old High German fuotar ; see food , forage

Synonym Study

See feed.

Example Sentences

President Biden’s Sunday move to pardon his son Hunter weeks before he was set to be sentenced for his federal convictions served as Jon Stewart’s comedy fodder this week.

From Los Angeles Times

Throughout his childhood, Eminem and his mother endured a fraught relationship — exacerbated by poverty — that eventually became fodder for multiple songs after he came to fame in the late 1990s.

From Los Angeles Times

These units are often sent in to battle as the “first wave” and a number of Russian deserters have told the BBC that “troublemakers” who object to the war have been used as “cannon fodder”.

From BBC

However, he says, they should not be presumed to be cannon fodder - adding such a characterisation is “Ukrainian bravado”.

From BBC

“I’m kind of used to my identity being cannon fodder,” Bennet says in a recent Zoom interview.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• barley
• corn
• food
• forage
• grain
• hay