spud

[spuhd]

noun

1. Informal.,  a potato.

2. a spadelike instrument, especially one with a narrow blade, as for digging up or cutting the roots of weeds.

3. a chisel-like tool for removing bark.

4. a pointed leg or stake for staying or supporting dredging or earth-boring machinery.

5. a short pipe, as for connecting a water pipe with a meter.

6. Surgery.,  an instrument having a dull flattened blade for removing substances or foreign bodies from certain parts of the body, as wax from the ear.

verb (used with object)

spudded, spudding 

1. to remove with a spud.

verb phrase

1. spud in,  to set up earth-boring equipment, especially for drilling an oil well.

spud

/ spʌd /

noun

1. an informal word for potato

2. a narrow-bladed spade for cutting roots, digging up weeds, etc

3. Also called: spudder. a tool, resembling a chisel, for removing bark from trees

verb

1. (tr) to remove (bark) or eradicate (weeds) with a spud

2. (intr) to drill the first foot of an oil-well

Word History and Origins

Origin of spud¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English spudde “short knife”; further origin unknown

Word History and Origins

Origin of spud¹

C15 spudde short knife, of unknown origin; applied later to a digging tool, and hence to a potato

Example Sentences

“Alas, poor spud!” she had just done intoning, Hamlet-like, to the withered potato, which was now furry with mold.

Read more on Literature

"The thing is, I really love a right good jacket spud with all the filling in, so I thought, why not?"

Read more on BBC

“I was like, ‘Why do you guys have a potato?’” she recalled asking the family handing out spuds.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

PepsiCo decided the brand needed to reclaim its roots in the spud.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It is already the world's second biggest spud producer.

Read more on BBC