prod
verb/prɒd/
/prɑːd/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they prod | /prɒd/ /prɑːd/ |
| he / she / it prods | /prɒdz/ /prɑːdz/ |
| past simple prodded | /ˈprɒdɪd/ /ˈprɑːdɪd/ |
| past participle prodded | /ˈprɒdɪd/ /ˈprɑːdɪd/ |
| -ing form prodding | /ˈprɒdɪŋ/ /ˈprɑːdɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] to push somebody/something with your finger or with a pointed object synonym poke
- prod somebody/something (+ adv./prep.) She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up.
- She prodded the dry ground with a stick.
- prod at somebody/something He prodded at his breakfast with a fork.
- prod somebody/something + adj Martha prodded him awake.
Definitions on the go
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- [transitive] to try to make somebody do something, especially when they are unwilling
- prod somebody into something She finally prodded him into action.
- prod somebody into doing something Institutions were prodded into changing over to commercial management structures.
- prod (somebody) + speech ‘You still haven't answered my question,’ he prodded her.
- prod somebody to do something He kept very quiet until she prodded him to say what he was looking for.
More Like This Consonant-doubling verbsConsonant-doubling verbs
Word Originmid 16th cent. (as a verb): perhaps symbolic of a short poking movement, or a blend of poke and dialect brod ‘to goad, prod’. The noun dates from the mid 18th cent.
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