goad
Americannoun
-
goads
plural
-
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)
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goads,
present (3rd person singular)
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goaded,
past participle, past
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goading
present participle
noun
-
a sharp pointed stick for urging on cattle, etc
-
anything that acts as a spur or incitement
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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goadsimple
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goadssimple
-
have goadedperfect
-
has goadedperfect
-
am goadingprogressive
-
are goadingprogressive
-
is goadingprogressive
-
have been goadingperfect progressive
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has been goadingperfect progressive
Past
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goadedsimple
-
had goadedperfect
-
was goadingprogressive
-
were goadingprogressive
-
had been goadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of goad
before 900; Middle English gode, Old English gād; compare Langobardic gaida spearhead
Explanation
A goad is a pointy stick or other instrument used to prod something along. To goad is to poke something with that pointy stick. Either way, the pointiness is really essential for making things leap into action. Originally spelled gad, meaning “spearhead,” goad first came into use as a verb in the 1570s. But say you left your pointy goading stick at home. Have no fear! You can goad people with words, too. Literally or figuratively, a goad prods and pokes and provokes people into doing something. A sheep herder might hustle his flock along with a goad, just as your mom's constant nagging and goading might finally get you sit up straight at the dinner table.
Vocabulary lists containing goad
Lord of the Flies
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Grade 11, List 2
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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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.
See Examples For:
The economy lacks other spurs to goad it into faster growth.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026
Tommy Lasorda had to goad Hershiser into becoming a bulldog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2025
Their trash-talking, hard checking, and ability to goad rivals into losing their cool on the ice is actually a point of pride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 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
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
Given the publication’s court-ordered immunization against liability, it appeared to be taking on the role of a bully who goads others into waging battle with the words, “Let’s you and him fight.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
One seeks out a key piece of Parkinson's-causing RNA, while the other goads the cell to chop it to pieces for recycling.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024
But it's still the dinner rush, and my phone goads me with the familiar chime of incoming offers.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2022
It was a strong-willed Cabinet of goads, gadflies and bureaucrats, and there were interagency squabbles and rivalries that the mayor seemed unable to control.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2020
This only goads them into talking further, in lowered voices, their heads leaning in toward each other.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Mr. Warsh resolutely refuses to be goaded into making news at post-FOMC press conferences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The fans goaded Kuniskis to rip a burnout, spinning the truck’s wheels in place until rubber turned into smoke.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
They felt he had been goaded into a moment of weakness.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2025
Speaking to “Vibe,” Drake candidly shared his thoughts on feeling as goaded by Lamar on “Control.”
From Salon ● May 7, 2024
The life he saw was short and his sense of it goaded him.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
As a club, Hearts have every right to remain livid at the crass goading of their players during the invasion that greeted Celtic's title win - and the tokenistic sanction that followed it.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Rather than respond directly to the company, Muddy Waters took to X, where it posted a meme goading SoFi to “run that game.”
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has been goading Albany to soak the rich, responded to the proposals: “I’m grateful.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
Pollock is known for goading the opposition and extravagant try-scoring celebrations.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
Even Bing Crosby, owner of a promising colt named High Strike, began goading Howard.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
