cudgel
a short, thick stick used as a weapon; club.
to strike with a cudgel; beat.
Idioms about cudgel
cudgel one's brains, to try to comprehend or remember: I cudgeled my brains to recall her name.
take up the cudgels, to come to the defense or aid of someone or something.
Origin of cudgel
1Other words from cudgel
- cudg·el·er; especially British, cud·gel·ler, noun
- un·cudg·eled, adjective
- un·cudg·elled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cudgel in a sentence
This was quite an undertaking, and a great many bright men cudgeled their brains as to the best means of accomplishing the result.
How to Succeed as an Inventor | Goodwin B. SmithThe Berserkers' brides I on Læsso cudgeled; they the worst had perpetrated, the whole people, had seduced.
The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson | Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre SturlesonThou shalt be soundly cudgeled, if I heartily begin, and let thy tail fall, Hrimgerd!
The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson | Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre SturlesonI shook my clenched hand after them; at that moment, I think I could have cudgeled Will without compunction.
The Fatal Glove | Clara Augusta Jones TraskThere was something familiar about him and Bert cudgeled his brains to remember where he had met him.
Bert Wilson's Twin Cylinder Racer | J. W. Duffield
British Dictionary definitions for cudgel
/ (ˈkʌdʒəl) /
a short stout stick used as a weapon
take up the cudgels (often foll by for or on behalf of) to join in a dispute, esp to defend oneself or another
(tr) to strike with a cudgel or similar weapon
cudgel one's brains to think hard about a problem
Origin of cudgel
1Derived forms of cudgel
- cudgeller, noun
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
Browse