lightning rod
Americannoun
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a rodlike conductor installed to divert lightning away from a structure by providing a direct path to the ground.
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a person or thing that attracts and absorbs powerful and especially negative or hostile feelings, opinions, etc., thereby diverting such feelings from other targets.
The unpopular supervisor served as a lightning rod for the criticism that should have been aimed at management.
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A grounded metal rod placed high on a structure to conduct electrical current from a lightning strike directly to the ground, preventing the currents from injuring people or animals or from damaging objects. Lightning rods usually have a sharp, pointed tip, since electric lines of force are more highly concentrated around pointed objects, in this case increasing the attractiveness of the rod compared with other nearby objects.
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See also Saint Elmo's fire
Etymology
Origin of lightning rod
An Americanism dating back to 1780–90
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.
The Tigers are betting that football’s biggest lightning rod can lead them to the promised land.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
But what turned a summer blockbuster into an IMAX-sized lightning rod?
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
He became a millionaire in the process and his legacy in southern Africa has become a lightning rod for discussions about "decolonising" institutions which continue to bear his name.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The World Cup was the lightning rod, said Carlos González Gutiérrez, the Mexican consul general in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
Instead, Morrie had become a lightning rod of ideas.
From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom
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.
