View synonyms for spud

spud

[ spuhd ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Informal. a potato.
a spadelike instrument, especially one with a narrow blade, as for digging up or cutting the roots of weeds.
a chisel-like tool for removing bark.
a pointed leg or stake for staying or supporting dredging or earth-boring machinery.
a short pipe, as for connecting a water pipe with a meter.
Surgery. an instrument having a dull flattened blade for removing substances or foreign bodies from certain parts of the body, as wax from the ear.

, spud·ded, spud·ding.

spud

/ spʌd /

Origin of spud¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English spudde “short knife”; further origin unknown

Origin of spud¹

C15 spudde short knife, of unknown origin; applied later to a digging tool, and hence to a potato

Old Warrender would lean on his daisy-spud a pleased spectator of the Arcadian scene.

Again he caught a glimpse of the boy's arm amid all that spud and foam.

Spud Murphy, our officer, fought till his arm was disabled, but we continued to hold the trench.

She walked up and down with her spud for another half-hour before she could come to any conclusion.

Spud answered with a joyous oath that it certainly looked like it.

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