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
Jogging on over the sand, I sat silent, cudgelling my brains for a solution of the disastrous predicament I had gotten into.
In Search of the Unknown | Robert W. ChambersFor a second he drummed on the table, clearly cudgelling his brains.
Berry And Co. | Dornford YatesThe first is revenge for the wholesome cudgelling which the captain bestowed upon him.
The Lady of Lynn | Walter BesantAll that day I lay in the dungeon cudgelling my brains for the reason of this new and inexplicable punishment.
The Jacket (The Star-Rover) | Jack LondonThey walked away, the little woman still sighing, her escort cudgelling his brain to think of something to say to console her.
San-Cravate; or, The Messengers; Little Streams | Charles Paul de Kock
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
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