sod
1 Americannoun
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a section cut or torn from the surface of grassland, containing the matted roots of grass.
-
the surface of the ground, especially when covered with grass; turf; sward.
verb (used with object)
verb
noun
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a person considered to be obnoxious
-
a jocular word for a person
the poor sod hasn't been out for weeks
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slang nothing
interjection
noun
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a piece of grass-covered surface soil held together by the roots of the grass; turf
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poetic the ground
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sod1
First recorded in 1475–1525; late Middle English sod(de), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German sode “turf”
Origin of sod3
First recorded in 1810–15; by shortening of sodomite ( def. )
Explanation
Sod is grass and the layer of soil that's just below it. When you step onto a grassy soccer field, your cleats will sink into the sod. You can also call sod "turf." A green, grassy lawn is covered with sod, and if you plant a yard with brand new sod, you sod it. Experts know that sod comes either from a Middle Dutch or Middle Low German root, but beyond that it's a bit of a mystery. Some guesses connect it to sog, from the idea of wet sod saturated with water—or soggy sod.
Vocabulary lists containing sod
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Charlotte's Web
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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.
The guitarist didn’t skip a beat: “That suits me, I’m a miserable sod most of the time.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
For this enormous game, new grass was specially sourced from a nearby sod farm.
From Barron's • Feb. 7, 2026
Mr Williams said: "I'm just a stubborn old sod and I'm not going to give in. I would appreciate it if anybody said to me 'you were right and we were wrong'."
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2025
SoFi’s 70-by-110-meter field, grown at a sod farm in Washington state, was laid down in strips earlier this month and was used for the first time Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2025
She had windproofed it by sealing the sod bricks with mud from the pond at her door, and she had made it beautiful by spreading her caribou ground cloth on the floor.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
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.
