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definitions

goad

[gohd]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR goad ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a stick with a pointed or electrically charged end, for driving cattle, oxen, etc.; prod.
anything that pricks or wounds like such a stick.
something that encourages, urges, or drives; a stimulus.

verb (used with object)

to prick or drive with, or as if with, a goad; prod; incite.

RELATED WORDS

prod, tease, coerce, harass, hound, provoke, desire, urge, incitement, compulsion, impetus, zeal, incitation, drive, incentive, lust, pressure, motivation, passion, catalyst

Origin of goad

before 900; Middle English gode, Old English gād; compare Langobardic gaida spearhead
Related formsgoad·like, adjectiveun·goad·ed, adjective

Synonyms for goad

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR goad ON THESAURUS.COM
4. spur, push, impel.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for goad

Contemporary Examples of goad

Historical Examples of goad

  • The contempt he did not trouble to dissemble served but to goad them on.

    Scaramouche

    Rafael Sabatini

  • Nothing could have been better calculated to goad him to extremity.

  • It was like a goad to the painted, shiny-eyed harridan on the sofa.

    Under Western Eyes

    Joseph Conrad

  • But the spur, though it pricked, did not goad him into any action.

    The Doctor's Family

    Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

  • Time rules in those glades, Time with his whip and goad, and there is no peace.

British Dictionary definitions for goad

goad

noun

a sharp pointed stick for urging on cattle, etc
anything that acts as a spur or incitement

verb

(tr) to drive with or as if with a goad; spur; incite
Derived Formsgoadlike, adjective

Word Origin for goad

Old English gād, of Germanic origin, related to Old English gār, Old Norse geirr spear
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
Word Origin and History for goad
n.

Old English gad "point, spearhead, arrowhead," from Proto-Germanic *gaido (cf. Lombardic gaida "spear"), from PIE *ghei- (cf. Sanskrit hetih "missile, projectile," himsati "he injures;" Avestan zaena- "weapon;" Greek khaios "shepherd's staff;" Old English gar "spear;" Old Irish gae "spear"). Figurative use is since 16c., probably from the Bible.

v.

1570s, from goad (n.); earliest use is figurative. Related: Goaded; goading.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper