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Synonyms

goad

American  
[gohd] / goʊd /

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.

  3. 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.

    Synonyms:
    impel, push, spur
goad British  
/ ɡəʊd /

noun

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

  2. anything that acts as a spur or incitement

"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

verb

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

"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

Other Word Forms

  • goadlike adjective
  • ungoaded adjective

Etymology

Origin of goad

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

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.

Commercial banks can goad the Fed into buying Treasurys by increasing their demand for reserves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

Tommy Lasorda had to goad Hershiser into becoming a bulldog.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2025

He defended those actions and said he will continue to stand up for what he believes is "right" by challenging those trying to goad him into a reaction on camera.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2025

As they goad each other, they act pettily and childishly but is also great fun to watch the superb actors go toe-to-toe.

From Salon • Nov. 10, 2024

An imaginative experimentalist who had been skeptical of Lawrence’s deuteron theory, Kurie proposed to Cooksey that they goad Yale into building a cyclotron to rival Berkeley’s—and to do better work.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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.