- a short thick stick that is used as a weaponWord OriginOld English cycgel, of unknown origin.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Idioms
See cudgel in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarytake up (the) cudgels on behalf of somebody/something
- (old-fashioned) to defend or support somebody/something strongly
Check pronunciation:
cudgel