prod
verb (used with object)
to poke or jab with or as if with something pointed.
prod
1 American
[prod]
/ prɒd /
verb (used with object)
-
prods,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prodded,
past participle, past
-
prodding
present participle
noun
-
prods
plural
-
the act of prodding; a poke or jab.
-
any of various pointed instruments used as a goad, especially an electrified rod that administers a mild shock.
a cattle prod.
Prod
2
American
[prod]
/ prɒd /
noun
Chiefly Ulster Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
prod.
3
American
abbreviation
-
produce.
-
produced.
-
producer.
-
product.
-
production.
prod
1
British
/ prɒd /
verb
-
to poke or jab with or as if with a pointed object
-
(tr) to rouse or urge to action
noun
-
the act or an instance of prodding
-
a sharp or pointed object
-
a stimulus or reminder
prod.
2
British
abbreviation
-
produce
-
produced
-
product
Prod
3
British
/ prɒd /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
prodsimple
-
prodssimple
-
have proddedperfect
-
has proddedperfect
-
am proddingprogressive
-
are proddingprogressive
-
is proddingprogressive
-
have been proddingperfect progressive
-
has been proddingperfect progressive
Past
-
proddedsimple
-
had proddedperfect
-
was proddingprogressive
-
were proddingprogressive
-
had been proddingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prod1
First recorded in 1525–35; origin uncertain
Origin of Prod2
By shortening; d probably reflects the voicing or flap characteristic of some Ulster accents
Explanation
A teacher might use a verbal prod when students aren't participating in class. A prod is an encouragement, like the threat of a quiz. Just hope the teacher doesn't use the kind of prod a rancher uses to keep cattle moving! Prod can also be a verb that refers to a soft poke or a nudge, like when you prod someone in the ribs with your finger. It can also describe verbal encouragement that's used when you want something or want to know something. For example, you might prod your sister into helping you do your math homework.
Vocabulary lists containing prod
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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List 5
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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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:
"Even though we believed these theories to be true, it's important to have an experimental realization, something you can poke and prod," Alicea says.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
Meg, a charity media officer, would prod him throughout the night and try to coax him from his back to his side.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Roberts beelined to him, cracking inside jokes to gently prod him out of his shell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
Already, the system can view and test websites like a human would, check that code was written with company-specific best practices, and prod it for security issues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Ralph was not religious in general, but in times of hardship, gods grew up, some to test and prod, others to look in on him.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
He would later go on to run Prod, a Cambridge, Mass.-based, student-run nonprofit startup accelerator that produced the coding agent Cursor and the AI hiring platform Mercor, before co-founding Etched.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The age-old North Korean art of “sports diplomacy” involved limited participation in a global forum to prove the country was normal, Prod Pacheco Pardo said.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2024
Prod a little deeper, and a fuller picture emerges, one where the four-legged family member calls the decorating shots.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2018
Prod the kids outside, give them hot chocolate and gaze toward the moon in the east.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2017
Prod up Pedro to git some hot water ready.
From Rimrock Trail by Joseph Allan Dunn
He said he felt like he’d been “stuck with a cattle prod. Like I jumped out of my seat. Adrenaline. Sweaty palms.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2022
“Poke and prod. But have a legitimate reason to go. Visit a restaurant or something. Get something cheap. Walk around a bit,” Duong responded, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2021
"He's the one that's playin' the part of the missing prod.," says I. "What is he like?" says Pinckney, gettin' interested.
From Side-stepping with Shorty by Sewell Ford
We think Bob will go in; she can do such beautiful pantomimes, and she's such a prod. and such jolly fun too.
From Betty Wales, Sophomore by Margaret Warde
One brilliant recitation may turn an unassuming student into a "prod."; and on the strength of one clever bit of writing another is given the title of "genius."
From Betty Wales, Sophomore by Margaret Warde
That is, until an intriguing puzzle shakes up Felix’s otherwise sleepy summer and prods him to pay attention to his surroundings in a new way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
If you opt for private sessions, there’s a misconception that it will involve revealing your innermost secrets, perhaps while lying on a couch, as a therapist prods you to beat back your demons.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
For most American infants, the hepatitis B shot comes just before their first bath, in the blur of pokes, prods and pictures that attend a 21st century hospital delivery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2025
In these moments, “A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute” prods people with long memories to contemplate what has and hasn’t changed about the comedy landscape 10 years after Rivers left us.
From Salon ● May 14, 2025
He prods her gently in the right direction.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Bumrah whacked a six and three fours in his cameo of 20 not out as he showed promise in keeping Shreyas company, but the latter softly prodded behind to Atkinson for a tame end.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
But decades later the three, prodded by Elvira, go on a quest to understand what really happened to them and their parents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
The crowd, which greeted Paul with boos before settling into sullen, begrudging applause when prodded, is fully prepared for a distraction.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
As the guarantors of European security, U.S. officials have long prodded European politicians on various issues—but usually behind closed doors and rarely with the bluntness of Trump’s diplomats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
He had a bruise under one eye—when he prodded it, experimentally, with one finger, he found it hurt deeply—and a swollen lower lip.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Massie has been one of the loudest House voices prodding the Trump administration to release more information on the sex offender and his accomplices.
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
Despite the EU’s prodding, European drivers have been reluctant to adopt electric vehicles on the scale regulators envisioned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
Showrunner Jess Brownell says this season, they were is interested in prodding the wish-fulfillment fantasy many of us were introduced to at a young age.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026
Then officers began calmly walking through the crowd, gently prodding people onto one side of the street to reopen it to traffic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Ash knew she could not conceal her fear; she felt a prickling sensation along her limbs where the fabric of the dress touched her, as if there were fingers prodding her to move.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
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.
