a somewhat elongated, two-valved seed vessel, as that of the pea or bean.
a dehiscent fruit or pericarp having several seeds.
Entomology.
an insect egg case.
a compact mass of insect eggs.
a streamlined enclosure, housing, or detachable container of some kind.
an engine pod under the wing of an aircraft.
a protective compartment, as for an automobile's instrument gauges.
I've agreed with some friends to become part of their pandemic pod.
Mining. an orebody that has an elongated or lenticular shape.
Radio and Television Slang. a cluster of brief commercials or spot announcements.
to produce pods.
to swell out like a pod.
a group of aquatic animals, especially marine mammals.
a pod of walruses.
a small flock of birds.
pay on delivery.
Post Office Department.
the fruit of any leguminous plant, consisting of a long two-valved case that contains seeds and splits along both sides when ripe
the seedcase as distinct from the seeds
any similar fruit
a streamlined structure attached by a pylon to an aircraft and used to house a jet engine ( podded engine ), fuel tank, armament, etc
an enclosed cabin suspended from a cable or a big wheel, for carrying passengers
(tr) to remove the pod or shell from (peas, beans, etc)
(intr) (of a plant) to produce pods
a straight groove along the length of certain augers and bits
the socket that holds the bit in a boring tool
What does pod- mean? The combining form pod- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “foot.” It is very occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology and medicine. The form pod- comes from Greek poús, meaning “foot.” The Latin cognate of poús is pēs, “foot,” and is the source of several combining forms related to the lower extremities, including -ped, -pede, ped-, and pedi-. Discover more at our Words That Use articles for each of these four forms. What are variants of pod-?The form pod- is a variant of podo-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels, and shares an origin with the combining forms -pod, -poda, -pode, -podium, and -podous. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for all six forms.
What does -pod mean? The combining form -pod is used like a suffix meaning “one having a foot” or "-footed." It is often used to denote a single member of a class in zoology. For example, a member of the class Cephalopoda (which includes mollusks like squid), is a cephalopod. The form -pod comes from Greek -pous, meaning “-footed.” The Latin cognate of -pous is -pēs, “-footed,” and is the source of several combining forms related to the lower extremities, including -ped, -pede, and pedi-. Discover more at our Words That Use articles for each of these three forms. What are the variants of -pod? Though -pod doesn’t have any variants, it shares an origin with the combining forms pod-, podo-, -poda, -pode, -podium, and -podous. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for all six forms.
First recorded in 1680–90; apparently back formation from podder “gatherer of peas (as from a garden)”; further origin uncertain)
An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; perhaps special (originally facetious) use of pod 1
First recorded in 2005–10; by shortening
First recorded in 1565–75; origin uncertain; perhaps a continuation of Old English pād “outer garment, cloak,” the socket being thought of as something that covers or hides from view what is held in it (though the phonology is irregular)
Combining form representing Greek poús (genitive podós ) foot
From New Latin, from Greek -pod-, stem of -pous, adjective derivative of poús; see origin at foot
First recorded in 1945–50; by shortening
A pod is a case that holds a plant's seeds. When you buy fresh peas from the farmer's market, they come still in their pod. In many plants, seeds grow in groups, nestled within a pod. Peas are one such plant, and many other legumes and flowers have seed pods as well. The expression "two peas in a pod" refers to the way seeds are clustered together within the pod, and means "very similar to each other." Pod comes from the fifteenth century term podware, "seed of legumes or grain."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When a pod dissolves in the wash cycle, the chemicals mix and activate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
A recently released “Supergirl” clip also shows Superman first meeting his cousin after her pod lands on Earth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
On May 27, the company flagged a manufacturing issue affecting roughly 7 million insulin pod medical devices.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
One of three finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, she’s got guys discussing her exploits on a dad pod otherwise dedicated to NBA takes.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
“I get a renewable air supply, somehow. And a mechanical mermaid tail. I have a home pod underwater, so I never have to surface? Boom! I’m a mermaid.”
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
Researchers measured the activity of protective enzymes including APX, SOD, PAL, and POD, while also analyzing gene expression linked to antioxidant defense systems.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
As a POD beneficiary, you stand in the place of the late account owner to receive the funds.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
"I’m going to keep doing my job until someone drags me out of me POD," one poster wrote.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2025
The Baltimore-based artist, whose work is in the street-facing display windows of 355 POD Space Gallery, is a master of making the hard appear soft.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2022
They were also printed in the same colors on entire envelopes of white and buff laid paper with the POD over US watermark of the regular United States stationery.
From Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal Stationery by Howes, Clifton Armstrong
The Aryan root is pod-, which appears in Sans. pūd, Gr. ποῦς, ποδός and Lat. pes, pedis.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various
In the aughts, the airwaves were full of bands led by Christians: Creed, P.O.D.,
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 17, 2018
A typical P.O.D. lyric is pointed but tries to avoid religious cliche: "Commit my life to rebirth, well respected, 'cause that's my word/I'm sure you heard, about a new sound going around."
From Time Magazine Archive
P.O.D. even played on Saturday Night Live last month.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Half of it goes to the man in England who ships the letter on short postage, and the other half goes to the P.O.D. to protect cheap postage from inaugurating a deficit."
From Mark Twain's Letters — Volume 6 (1907-1910) by Paine, Albert Bigelow
Seats are at the forefront, with private pods kitted out with extra storage space, wireless charging, ottomans and retractable privacy dividers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Tiles are “easy to use, but no easier than pods or laundry detergent sheets,” said Christy Lebor, president of consumer-goods consulting firm SmashBrand in Colorado, where Tide first tested the product.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
The goal is to build what Bergstrom calls Water Farm No. 1, an array of dozens of 40-foot-long pods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
Humpback whales in the Southern Hemisphere live in well-defined pods and usually follow the same migratory routes every year, travelling between feeding areas in cold water and breeding grounds in the tropics.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
If they’d attacked the ship an hour earlier, our pods would’ve been empty too.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Upon his return to Brooklyn, he podded up with his fathers, and became involved in Black Lives Matter protests.
From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2022
“But I’ve seen them kind of bunched up and podded up, and I’m seeing them in places where I don’t ordinarily see them.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2021
"I feel it's your moral and professional obligation to inform, since we're not all podded up and being tested every single day," Aniston insisted.
From Fox News ● Aug. 4, 2021
We've been podded together, desperate as my husband and I are for childcare, desperate for our children and our parents to be safe and healthy.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2021
Upon my return, I saw nothing for a time but fans and feathers of browning fern, dark shags of ling, and podded spurs of broom and furze, and wisps of grass.
From Erema — My Father's Sin by Blackmore, R. D. (Richard Doddridge)
In lower and middle schools, students are instead eating indoors, but with “mitigating measures such as use of seating charts, podding and sign-in sheets,” according to the district’s website.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 12, 2021
In New Brunswick, indoor personal gatherings remain limited to 15 people, so many families are still podding — but Ms. O’Sullivan is anticipating more teenage feelings when they split.
From New York Times ● May 21, 2021
The white parents at Greenbrier who are podding know that things are getting more and more unequal at their school.
From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2020
They are podding or going solo for a change of scenery, some taking day trips, others staying a week or even longer, mostly within New York state.
From New York Times ● Jul. 24, 2020
English catalogues represent the Napoléon as being "the earliest blue pea in cultivation, podding from the bottom of the haum to the top, with fine large pods."
From The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Containing Full Descriptions of Nearly Eleven Hundred Species and Varietes; With Directions for Propagation, Culture and Use. by Burr, Fearing
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.
