rod

¹

[rod]

noun

1. a stick, wand, staff, or the like, of wood, metal, or other material.

2. a straight, slender shoot or stem of any woody plant, whether still growing or cut from the plant.

3. fishing rod.

4. (in plastering or mortaring) a straightedge moved along screeds to even the plaster between them.

5. a stick used for measuring.

6. Archaic.,  a unit of linear measure, 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet (5.029 meters); linear perch or pole.

7. Archaic.,  a unit of square measure, 30.25 square yards (25.29 sq. m); square perch or pole.

8. a stick, or a bundle of sticks or switches bound together, used as an instrument of punishment.

9. punishment or discipline.

   Not one to spare the rod, I sent him to bed without dinner.

10. a wand, staff, or scepter carried as a symbol of office, authority, power, etc.

11. authority, sway, or rule, especially when tyrannical.

12. lightning rod.

13. a slender bar or tube for draping towels over, suspending a shower curtain, etc.

14. Bible.,  a branch of a family; tribe.

15. a pattern, drawn on wood in full size, of one section of a piece of furniture.

16. Slang.

    1. a pistol or revolver.

    2. Vulgar.,  the penis.

17. Anatomy.,  one of the rodlike cells in the retina of the eye, sensitive to low intensities of light.

18. Bacteriology.,  a rod-shaped microorganism.

19. Also called stadia rod. Also called leveling rod. Surveying.,  a light pole, conspicuously marked with graduations, held upright and read through a surveying instrument in leveling or stadia surveying.

20. Metallurgy.,  round metal stock for drawing and cutting into slender bars.

verb (used with object)

rodded, rodding 

1. to furnish or equip with a rod or rods, especially lightning rods.

2. to even (plaster or mortar) with a rod.

3. Metallurgy.,  to reinforce (the core of a mold) with metal rods.

Rod

²

[rod]

noun

1. a male given name, form of Roderick or Rodney.

rod

/ rɒd /

noun

1. a slim cylinder of metal, wood, etc; stick or shaft

2. a switch or bundle of switches used to administer corporal punishment

3. any of various staffs of insignia or office

4. power, esp of a tyrannical kind

   a dictator's iron rod

5. a straight slender shoot, stem, or cane of a woody plant

6. See fishing rod

7. Also called: pole.  perch. 

   1. a unit of length equal to 5 1/ 2 yards

   2. a unit of square measure equal to 30 1/ 4 square yards

8. a straight narrow board marked with the dimensions of a piece of joinery, as the spacing of steps on a staircase

9. a metal shaft that transmits power in axial reciprocating motion Compare shaft

   piston rod, con(necting) rod

10. surveying another name (esp US) for staff 1

11. Also called: retinal rod. any of the elongated cylindrical cells in the retina of the eye, containing the visual purple (rhodopsin), which are sensitive to dim light but not to colour Compare cone

12. any rod-shaped bacterium

13. a slang word for penis

14. slang name for pistol

15. short for hot rod

rod

1. One of the rod-shaped cells in the retina of the eye of many vertebrate animals. Rods are more sensitive to light than cones and are responsible for the ability to see in dim light. However, rods are insensitive to red wavelengths of light and do not contribute greatly to the perception of color.

2. Compare cone

Other Word Forms

• rodless adjective
• rodlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rod¹

before 1150; Middle English rodd, late Old English; akin to Old Norse rudda club

Word History and Origins

Origin of rod¹

Old English rodd ; related to Old Norse rudda club, Norwegian rudda, rydda twig

Idioms and Phrases

see hot rod; spare the rod.

Example Sentences

Although it has long been part of his resume, Southers’ work in the mid-2000s in Israel has especially become a lighting rod due to the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

From Los Angeles Times

They waded through a field of charred debris, gathering up fire-gnarled steel rods, metal door frames and structural beams into piles, which were later loaded onto dump trucks and hauled away to landfills.

From Los Angeles Times

Some Disney execs were belatedly uncomfortable with Kimmel’s monologue, which became a lightning rod for conservatives on social media.

From Los Angeles Times

Metal rods protrude from the white and pink gauze wrapped around his right leg, where he was shot.

From BBC

As a rookie in 2023, Johnston was a lightning rod for ridicule on social media for his inconsistent performances — particularly drops — with many expecting more from a former first-round pick.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• baton 
• cane 
• cylinder 
• ingot 
• shaft 
• slab 
• stick 

When To Use

What else does rod mean?

Rod can refer to a stick, handgun, car, parts of the eye, and even, well, the penis, among many other things. ROD can additionally serve as an acronym for the slang expression ride or die.