goad

[ gohd ]
See synonyms for: goadgoadedgoading on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a stick with a pointed or electrically charged end, for driving cattle, oxen, etc.; prod.

  2. anything that pricks or wounds like such a stick.

  1. something that encourages, urges, or drives; a stimulus.

verb (used with object)
  1. to prick or drive with, or as if with, a goad; prod; incite.

Origin of goad

1
before 900; Middle English gode,Old English gād; compare Langobardic gaida spearhead

Other words for goad

Other words from goad

  • goad·like, adjective
  • un·goad·ed, adjective

Words Nearby goad

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use goad in a sentence

  • Social and cultural insecurity has also served as a goad to Mormon productivity and achievement.

    Mormons Rock! | Walter Kirn | June 5, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • He knew how to improvise, how to lead a fellow actor into a state of mind, how to goad them into their best performances.

  • Egypt is like a fair and beautiful heifer: there shall come from the north one that shall goad her.

  • He called to her, he rallied her; he signalled to Thyrsis to help him—to inspire her, to goad her to new endurance.

    Love's Pilgrimage | Upton Sinclair
  • The mahout reached down with his silver tipped goad and touched the elephant on the knee.

    The Adventures of Kathlyn | Harold MacGrath
  • The mahout, fully awake to the danger, beat the old rascal mightily with his goad.

    The Adventures of Kathlyn | Harold MacGrath
  • In his hand he carried a long-handled ox-whip, with a short goad in the butt of it.

    Earth's Enigmas | Charles G. D. Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for goad

goad

/ (ɡəʊd) /


noun
  1. a sharp pointed stick for urging on cattle, etc

  2. anything that acts as a spur or incitement

verb
  1. (tr) to drive with or as if with a goad; spur; incite

Origin of goad

1
Old English gād, of Germanic origin, related to Old English gār, Old Norse geirr spear

Derived forms of goad

  • goadlike, adjective

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