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• stud
  stud

  noun

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

  abbreviation

  student.

stud

¹ American  

[stuhd] / stʌd /

noun

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

2. 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.

3. 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.

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

5. 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.

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

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

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verb (used with object)

• studs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• studded,
  past participle,  past
• studding
  present participle

1. to set with or as if with studs, bosses, or the like.

   The leather-covered door was studded with brass nails.

2. (of things) to be scattered over the expanse or surface of.

   Stars stud the sky.

3. to set or scatter (objects) at intervals over an expanse or surface.

   to stud raisins over a cake.

4. to furnish with or support by studs.

adjective

1. ornamented with rivets, nailheads, or other buttonlike, usually metallic objects.

   a stud belt.

stud ² American  

[stuhd] / stʌd /

noun

1. a studhorse or stallion.

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

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

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

5. a herd of animals kept for breeding.

6. Slang.

   1. a man who is notably virile and sexually active.

   2. a handsome man with an attractive physique; a hunk.

   3. a young man.

7. Poker. stud poker.

8. a Black woman or girl, especially a lesbian, who embraces identity markers, such as clothing, hairstyle, interests, or behaviors that are associated with traditional expressions of masculinity.

   Masculine women are my type so I've dated a lot of studs.

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adjective

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

2. retained for breeding purposes.

3. noting or relating to a Black woman or girl, especially a lesbian, who embraces identity markers, such as clothing, hairstyle, interests, or behaviors, that are associated with traditional expressions of masculinity; butch.

   There's a lot of stud lesbians in the club tonight!

idioms

1. at / in stud, (of a male animal) offered for the purpose of breeding.

stud. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. student.

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stud ¹ British  

/ stʌd /

noun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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verb

1. to provide, ornament, or make with studs

2. to dot or cover (with)

   the park was studded with daisies

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

stud ² British  

/ stʌd /

noun

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

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

3. a farm or stable where a stud is kept

4. the state or condition of being kept for breeding purposes

   at stud

   put to stud

5. (modifier) of or relating to such animals or the place where they are kept

   a stud farm

   a stud horse

6. slang a virile or sexually active man

7. short for stud poker

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unstudded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• studding
  present
• studded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stud
  simple
• studs
  simple
• have studded
  perfect
• has studded
  perfect
• am studding
  progressive
• are studding
  progressive
• is studding
  progressive
• have been studding
  perfect progressive
• has been studding
  perfect progressive

Past

• studded
  simple
• had studded
  perfect
• was studding
  progressive
• were studding
  progressive
• had been studding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stud
  simple
• will have studded
  perfect
• will be studding
  progressive
• will have been studding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of stud¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English stod(e), stud(e), “upright post; ornamental knob,” Old English stod, studu “stake, post”; cognate with Middle High German stud, Old Norse stoth “pillar, post, support”

Origin of stud²

First recorded before 1000, and in 1920–25 stud ² for def. 6; Middle English stod(e), stud(e), Old English stōd “a stud, herd of horses,” cognate with Old Norse stōth; akin to stand

Explanation

A stud is a metal piece that sticks out, usually for decoration. You might have studs spelling out "Mom" on your leather jacket. Straight, simple earrings — a single pearl on a straight post, for instance — are also called studs. There are a few meanings of stud that you should know if you are an equestrian or in construction. A stud is a male horse used for breeding, and it’s also slang for a macho he-man. If you want to hang a heavy mirror on a wall, you have to find the studs — the upright boards behind the wall — and hammer your nails into the studs, so the nails are anchored to something solid so they can support the weight of the mirror.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stud stud. studs studded studding

“They were in a stretch right there where every single day, they were getting a stud hurt. They put together a winning streak against the Tigers, then Clay Holmes has the comebacker break his ankle.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

And in February, as snow melted around the “No Industrial Solar” signs that stud the long country roads, a circuit court judge ruled that St. Clair County’s health regulation is “invalid, null, and void.”

From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2026

"The footprints of craftworking buildings were found along with evidence for different stages of production, including the creation of vellum, pigments for the pages and glass stud mounts for the cover and bindings," she said.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

If you get a stud in your navel or a little tattoo on your ankle, you aren’t likely to look back later and kick yourself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

The third was about people who pierce weird body parts: One girl had a silver nail run through her bellybutton, and another one had a diamond stud put in her tongue.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

“But this guy is a stud. He elevates everybody, myself included. He’s playing outstanding.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2023

“Nothing boutique, nothing nuanced, just the stud. Jalen Lewis comes in, and he’s recognized on the national level, the U.S.A. Basketball level. It got easier from there.”

From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2021

“He’s a stud. He’s somebody that doesn’t care what situation he’s in, who he’s facing, who’s at the plate. His heart beats the same way the whole time.”

From Washington Post ● Mar. 23, 2017

“You almost start handicapping him again when he goes to stud. The genes he carries are crucial to the breeder’s decision as to whether he’s a worthy gamble as a sire,” Oakford added.

From Forbes ● Jun. 6, 2015

Smile pretty, everybody," Garlock said, and pressed a stud. "... the matter?

From The Galaxy Primes by E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith

In a group play match against Algeria, Lionel Messi, the Argentine superstar, seemed to rake his studs along Aïssa Mandi’s right calf and ankle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

On that night, in Kansas City, Messi lunged for a ball and raked his studs on the calf of an Algerian defender.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

"We would say it's glancing contact, it's not full studs on the leg, bending over the leg."

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

But Havertz very nearly was dismissed midway through the second half, when, in the middle of the pitch, he slid in and his studs caught Lesley Ugochukwu on his left calf.

From BBC ● May 18, 2026

My hand stops at the shoe rack, where I pick up an exquisite pair of white, red, and green kicks that smell like new leather, the heels decorated with gold studs.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

The algorithm didn’t exist when I was shopping for studded belts in Spring Valley — it was a baser instinct thing, something my brain had an immediate and raw reaction to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Constantinople had a superb strategic position and massive ancient defenses: a huge moat, an outer wall, and an inner wall studded with towers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Under a chaotic canopy woven with vines and studded with fearsome spiked stems, the group crossed streams, waded through mud and picked off dozens of leeches.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

The AI leaderboard has been studded with swift rerankings as the technology rapidly evolves.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 26, 2026

By his side hung a curving scimitar, a round shield studded with bosses of brass hung at his back, and his right hand grasped a lance.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis

Williams gave Pruitt information about her family and her relationship to tennis history that he has embedded, such as studding the swirling beads with the birthstones of her siblings.

From New York Times ● Nov. 1, 2022

Jet-setters aspiring to Plein’s rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic can settle into a curved velvet sofa with gold studding.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 13, 2022

But Ferreira found that people who carry a specific variant of the ACE2 gene have about 39 percent fewer receptors for the protein studding their cellular surfaces.

From Scientific American ● May 18, 2022

This fantasy's purpose wasn't to make these fetes more desirable by studding them with stars, but to accurately suss out the source of a performer's charisma.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2022

The base was X-shaped, walnut-sized brass balls studding the ring where the metallic legs crossed.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Related Words

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