goad

[ gohd ]

See 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.

Origin of goad

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

Other words for goad

4	spur, push, impel

See synonyms for goad on Thesaurus.com

Other words from goad

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

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

How to use goad in a sentence

As shadows fall and flesh goads, we all but hear the frenzied rutting amid the sirens.
How Horst Captured Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, and Vivien Leigh—and Changed Fashion Photography | Patrick Strudwick | September 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The years like Great Black Oxen tread the world And God the herdsman goads them on behind.
American Dreams, 1923: Black Oxen by Gertrude Atherton | Nathaniel Rich | March 28, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
It teases and goads the wealthy to be fair rather than excoriate them for being rich.
Obama Call for Buffett Rule Is Potent Politics but an Economic Pitfall | Zachary Karabell | April 11, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Then the fury that goads a woman scorned possessed her and lashed on the blood-hounds of vengeance.
The Argus Pheasant | John Charles Beecham
There are times when the irony of this thought bites deep into the mind, and goads the mortal to revolt.
The Long Night | Stanley Weyman

I might have been an unfortunate little bull in a Spanish arena, I got so smartingly touched up by these moral goads.
Great Expectations | Charles Dickens
Your pride goads you, but your heart is no longer in the work.
The Wolf Cub | Patrick Casey
In a small community, the master who dares kick against the parental goads soon finds the town too hot to hold him.
Town Life in Australia | R. E. N. (Richard) Twopeny

British Dictionary definitions for goad

goad

/ (ɡəʊd) /

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

Origin of goad

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

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