nod
verb (used without object)
to make a slight, quick downward bending forward of the head, as in assent, greeting, or command.
nod
1 American
[nod]
/ nɒd /
verb (used without object)
-
nods,
present (3rd person singular)
-
nodded,
past participle, past
-
nodding
present participle
-
to make a slight, quick downward bending forward of the head, as in assent, greeting, or command.
-
to let the head fall slightly forward with a sudden, involuntary movement when sleepy.
-
to doze, especially in a sitting position.
The speaker was so boring that half the audience was nodding.
- Synonyms:
- drowse
-
to become careless, inattentive, or listless; make an error or mistake through lack of attention.
-
(of trees, flowers, plumes, etc.) to droop, bend, or incline with a swaying motion.
verb (used with object)
-
nods,
present (3rd person singular)
-
nodded,
past participle, past
-
nodding
present participle
-
to bend (the head) in a short, quick downward movement, as of assent or greeting.
-
to express or signify by such a movement of the head.
to nod approval; to nod agreement.
-
to summon, bring, or send by a nod of the head.
-
to cause (something) to lean or sway; incline.
noun
-
nods
plural
-
a short, quick downward bending forward of the head, as in assent, greeting, or command, or because of drowsiness.
-
a brief period of sleep; nap.
-
a bending or swaying movement.
-
a gesture or action indicating that someone or something has been approved, selected, recognized, etc..
The domed ceiling is a nod to traditional library reading rooms.
-
a nomination, as for an office or award: The film has received critical praise and two Oscar nods.
It looks like he’s locked up the party’s nod for governor.
The film has received critical praise and two Oscar nods.
verb phrase
-
nod out to fall asleep, especially owing to the effects of a drug.
-
nod off to fall asleep or doze, especially in a sitting position.
He was reprimanded for nodding off in class.
idioms
-
on the nod,
-
British Slang. on credit.
-
Slang. drowsy following a dose of a narcotic drug.
-
-
get the nod, to get approval; be selected, recognized, etc.: He got the nod as starting pitcher for the Phillies.
We’ve gotten the nod from the administration to hire two assistant professors.
He got the nod as starting pitcher for the Phillies.
-
give the nod, to give an indication of approval, recognition, etc.: It wasn’t till May that the company was given the nod to schedule the event.
The board gave the nod to the new proposal.
It wasn’t till May that the company was given the nod to schedule the event.
Nod
2
American
[nod]
/ nɒd /
nod
British
/ nɒd /
verb
-
to lower and raise (the head) briefly, as to indicate agreement, invitation, etc
-
(tr) to express or indicate by nodding
she nodded approval
-
(tr) to bring or direct by nodding
she nodded me towards the manager's office
-
(intr) (of flowers, trees, etc) to sway or bend forwards and back
-
(intr) to let the head fall forward through drowsiness; be almost asleep
the old lady sat nodding by the fire
-
(intr) to be momentarily inattentive or careless
even Homer sometimes nods
-
a slight, casual, or superficial knowledge (of a subject or a person)
noun
-
a quick down-and-up movement of the head, as in assent, command, etc
she greeted him with a nod
-
a short sleep; nap See also land of Nod
-
a swaying motion, as of flowers, etc, in the wind
-
informal
-
agreed, as in a committee meeting, without any formal procedure
-
(formerly) on credit
-
-
informal boxing the award of a contest to a competitor on the basis of points scored
nod
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
nodsimple
-
nodssimple
-
have noddedperfect
-
has noddedperfect
-
am noddingprogressive
-
are noddingprogressive
-
is noddingprogressive
-
have been noddingperfect progressive
-
has been noddingperfect progressive
Past
-
noddedsimple
-
had noddedperfect
-
was noddingprogressive
-
were noddingprogressive
-
had been noddingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of nod1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English nodde, of uncertain origin
Origin of Nod2
Ultimately from Hebrew Nōdh “wandering”
Explanation
When you nod, you shake your head up and down, as if you're indicating agreement. If you want to say "Yes" without uttering a single word, all you have to do is nod. There's the deliberate nod, when you agree with someone by raising and lowering your chin, and then there's the accidental nod — when you're so sleepy that your eyes close and your head dips down. You can even say you "nod off to sleep" in this case. If you know someone well enough to nod at them when you pass, but not well enough to stop and chat, you can call that person "a nodding acquaintance."
Vocabulary lists containing nod
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:
“Stars align” is a nod to the “stars in motion” emblem for the 1984 Olympics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
In a nod to Citrini Research’s AI doomsday report that went viral at the start of the year, he laid out a multiyear fictional look at the before and after of that bubble bursting.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
A few years ago, after the AlphaFold milestone, Hassabis launched a company inside Google called Isomorphic Labs, a nod to the mathematical term describing objects with the same form, shape or structure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Dynamic back-row forward Basham has started the season strongly for Cardiff and gets the nod ahead of fit-again Faletau, who made his first appearance of the season for Cardiff at Northampton on Sunday.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
Dad takes a last look at the table setting and gives it a nod of approval.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Appeared in the June 13, 2026, print edition as 'Paramount-Warner Deal Wins DOJ Nod'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Lost Records is made by Don't Nod, the original developers of The Life is Strange series, first released in 2015.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2025
The results provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between nitrogen nutrition, Nod factor signaling, and root microbiome assembly.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2024
Banishers comes from the French studio Don’t Nod, best known for story-heavy cult favorites like Vampyr and Life Is Strange.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 11, 2024
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.’
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Now, “What’s Wrong” and “You Seem Pretty Sad” are both expected to land multiple Grammy nods when nominations are announced Nov. 16.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
It also threads throughout a few clever nods to Bob Dylan, though how that element fits into the whole I’ve yet to fully figure out—just the kind of lingering headscratcher this festival excels at.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The name also nods to the torque for which EVs are known.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
It also showed up to this year’s Emmys with 24 nods, a record in the comedy category.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
Emma nods in agreement, but neither of us moves.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
But as he held forth about the failures of both parties, students in the room nodded their heads in unison.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026
"All the musicians in Ireland will have nodded to him at some stage," he added.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
His first movie, 2003’s “Head of State,” about a D.C. alderman suddenly promoted to president, nodded toward Frank Capra.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Investors listened, nodded solemnly—and then proceeded to buy more AI stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
And when I nodded, she said bye and made her way out of the bookstore.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
The toilets are in a "pitiful" state, some without locks; internet access is patchy in classrooms, and a lack of printer ink sometimes leaves handouts unreadable, he added, his friends nodding along.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
“That’s right,” Bass said, nodding beside the police chief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Wong, dressed in a dark blue shirt, was seen smiling and nodding in response from the dock.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Banks were encouraged to hoard these reserves both by black-letter liquidity regulations and by strenuous winking and nodding by their supervisors at the Fed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
There was so much bobbing and grinning and nodding up and down, they looked like a covey of quails.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
