stud

[stuhd]

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noun

a boss, knob, nailhead, or other protuberance projecting from a surface or part, especially as an ornament.

any of various buttonlike, usually ornamental objects, mounted on a shank that is passed through an article of clothing to fasten it: a collar stud.

any of a number of slender, upright members of wood, steel, etc., forming the frame of a wall or partition and covered with plasterwork, siding, etc.

any of various projecting pins, lugs, or the like, on machines or other implements.

Automotive. any of a large number of small projecting lugs embedded in an automobile tire (studded tire) to improve traction on snowy or icy roads.

an earring consisting of a small, buttonlike ornament mounted on a metal post designed to pass through a pierced ear lobe.

Horology. the piece to which the fixed end of a hairspring is attached.

verb (used with object), stud·ded, stud·ding.

to set with or as if with studs, bosses, or the like: The leather-covered door was studded with brass nails.

(of things) to be scattered over the expanse or surface of: Stars stud the sky.

to set or scatter (objects) at intervals over an expanse or surface: to stud raisins over a cake.

to furnish with or support by studs.

adjective

ornamented with rivets, nailheads, or other buttonlike, usually metallic objects: a stud belt.

Origin of stud

before 900; Middle English stude knob, post, Old English studu post; cognate with Middle High German stud, Old Norse stoth post

Related formsun·stud·ded, adjective

stud

[stuhd]

noun

a studhorse or stallion.

an establishment, as a farm, in which horses are kept for breeding.

a number of horses, usually for racing or hunting, bred or kept by one owner.

a male animal, as a bull or ram, kept for breeding.

a herd of animals kept for breeding.

Slang. a man, especially one who is notably virile and sexually active.

Poker. stud poker.

adjective

of, associated with, or pertaining to a studhorse or studhorses.

retained for breeding purposes.

Origin of stud

before 1000; 1920–25 for def 6; Middle English; Old English stōd; cognate with Old Norse stōth; akin to stand

stud.

student.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for stud

button, beam, post, scantling, framing, pin, pillar, peg, brace, dot

Examples from the Web for stud

Contemporary Examples of stud

They ran headlines—not once, but twice—referring to NBA stud Jeremy Lin as a “chink.”
ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Pricks
Marlow Stern
July 29, 2014
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is the stud you love to hate—at least onscreen.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau on S&M with Kate Upton and that ‘Game of Thrones’ Rape Scene
Marlow Stern
April 25, 2014
“John Cusack will forever be a stud,” says Melissa Middleton, “pinfluencer” and founder of JNSQ, an online lifestyle blog.
An Ode to the Trench Coat: The Burberry vs. The Lloyd Dobler
Sara Lieberman
April 14, 2014
So after we shot there that weekend we out and went dancing at The Stud.
‘Looking’ Star Jonathan Groff Talks About His Big Gay TV Show. (And Whether We Should Call It That.)
Kevin Fallon
January 16, 2014
Then we shot at The Stud, which is a bar in San Francisco, at the end of the fourth episode.
‘Looking’ Star Jonathan Groff Talks About His Big Gay TV Show. (And Whether We Should Call It That.)
Kevin Fallon
January 16, 2014

Historical Examples of stud

He creepin' went and watchin' stud, And he thought to hold her fast.
Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood
George MacDonald
Sutter touched a stud and the electric runabout coasted to a halt.
Made in Tanganyika
Carl Richard Jacobi
Come an' have a dhrink, me son,' sez Peg Barney, staggerin' where he stud.
Soldiers Three, Part II.
Rudyard Kipling
He picked up a microphone, touched a stud, and turned a knob.
The Players
Everett B. Cole
"Stud's undone, old chap," said his opponent as he paid his debt.
Quin
Alice Hegan Rice

British Dictionary definitions for stud

stud

noun

a large-headed nail or other projection protruding from a surface, usually as decoration

a type of fastener consisting of two discs at either end of a short shank, used to fasten shirtfronts, collars, etc

building trades a vertical member made of timber, steel, etc, that is used with others to construct the framework of a wall

a headless bolt that is threaded at both ends, the centre portion being unthreaded

any short projection on a machine, such as the metal cylinder that forms a journal for the gears on a screw-cutting lathe

the crossbar in the centre of a link of a heavy chain

one of a number of rounded projections on the sole of a boot or shoe to give better grip, as on a football boot

verb studs, studding or studded (tr)

to provide, ornament, or make with studs

to dot or cover (with)the park was studded with daisies

building trades to provide or support (a wall, partition, etc) with studs

Word Origin for stud

Old English studu; related to Old Norse stoth post, Middle High German stud post

stud

noun

a group of pedigree animals, esp horses, kept for breeding purposes

any male animal kept principally for breeding purposes, esp a stallion

a farm or stable where a stud is kept

the state or condition of being kept for breeding purposesat stud; put to stud

(modifier) of or relating to such animals or the place where they are kepta stud farm; a stud horse

slang a virile or sexually active man

short for stud poker

Word Origin for stud

Old English stōd; related to Old Norse stōth, Old High German stuot

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stud

n.1

"nailhead, knob," Old English studu "pillar, prop, post," from Proto-Germanic *stud- (cf. Old Norse stoð "staff, stick," prop. "stay," Middle High German stud, Old English stow "place"), from PIE *stu-, variant of root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Sense expanded by late 14c. to include ornamental devices fixed in and projecting from a surface. The verb is c.1500 in the literal sense of "set with studs," 1560s in studded with "as though sprinkled with nails with conspicuous heads."

n.2

"horse used for breeding," Old English stod "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding," from Proto-Germanic *stodo (cf. Old Norse stoð, Middle Low German stod, Old High German stuot "herd of horses," German Stute "mare"), from PIE root *sta- "to stand," with derivatives meaning "place or thing that is standing" (cf. Old Church Slavonic stado "herd," Lithuanian stodas "a drove of horses;" see stet). Sense of "male horse kept for breeding" is first recorded 1803; meaning "man who is highly active and proficient sexually" is attested from 1895; that of "any young man" is from 1929.