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rod

 - 10 dictionary results

rod

  [rod] noun, verb, rod⋅ded, rod⋅ding.
Use rod in a Sentence
–noun
1. a stick, wand, staff, or the like, of wood, metal, or other material.
2. a straight, slender shoot or stem of any woody plant, whether still growing or cut from the plant.
3. fishing rod.
4. (in plastering or mortaring) a straightedge moved along screeds to even the plaster between them.
5. a stick used for measuring.
6. a unit of linear measure, 5 1/2 yards or 16 1/2 feet (5.029 m); linear perch or pole.
7. a unit of square measure, 30 1/4 square yards (25.29 sq. m); square perch or pole.
8. a stick, or a bundle of sticks or switches bound together, used as an instrument of punishment.
9. punishment or discipline: Not one to spare the rod, I sent him to bed without dinner.
10. a wand, staff, or scepter carried as a symbol of office, authority, power, etc.
11. authority, sway, or rule, esp. when tyrannical.
12. lightning rod.
13. a slender bar or tube for draping towels over, suspending a shower curtain, etc.
14. Bible. a branch of a family; tribe.
15. a pattern, drawn on wood in full size, of one section of a piece of furniture.
16. Slang.
a. a pistol or revolver.
b. Vulgar. the penis.
17. Anatomy. one of the rodlike cells in the retina of the eye, sensitive to low intensities of light. Compare cone (def. 5).
18. Bacteriology. a rod-shaped microorganism.
19. Also called leveling rod, stadia rod. Surveying. a light pole, conspicuously marked with graduations, held upright and read through a surveying instrument in leveling or stadia surveying.
20. Metallurgy. round metal stock for drawing and cutting into slender bars.
–verb (used with object)
21. to furnish or equip with a rod or rods, esp. lightning rods.
22. to even (plaster or mortar) with a rod.
23. Metallurgy. to reinforce (the core of a mold) with metal rods.
Origin:
bef. 1150; ME rodd, late OE; akin to ON rudda club

Related forms:
rodless, adjective
rodlike, adjective

Rod

  [rod]
–noun
a male given name, form of Roderick or Rodney.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rod
rod   (rŏd)   
n.  

  1. A thin straight piece or bar of material, such as metal or wood, often having a particular function or use, as:

    1. A fishing rod.

    2. A piston rod.

    3. An often expandable horizontal bar, especially of metal, used to suspend household items such as curtains or towels.

    4. A leveling rod.

    5. A lightning rod.

    6. A divining rod.

    7. A measuring stick.

    8. A stick or bundle of sticks or switches used to give punishment by whipping.

    9. Punishment; correction.

    10. A linear measure equal to 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet (5.03 meters). Also called pole2.

    11. The square of this measure, equal to 30.25 square yards or 272.25 square feet (25.30 square meters). See Table at measurement.

  2. A shoot or stem cut from or growing as part of a woody plant.

    1. A stick or bundle of sticks or switches used to give punishment by whipping.

    2. Punishment; correction.

    3. A linear measure equal to 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet (5.03 meters). Also called pole2.

    4. The square of this measure, equal to 30.25 square yards or 272.25 square feet (25.30 square meters). See Table at measurement.

  4. A scepter, staff, or wand symbolizing power or authority.

  5. Power or dominion, especially of a tyrannical nature: "under the rod of a cruel slavery" (John Henry Newman).

  6. Abbr. rd

    1. A linear measure equal to 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet (5.03 meters). Also called pole2.

    2. The square of this measure, equal to 30.25 square yards or 272.25 square feet (25.30 square meters). See Table at measurement.

  7. Bible A line of family descent; a branch of a tribe.

  8. Anatomy Any of various rod-shaped cells in the retina that respond to dim light.

  9. Microbiology An elongated bacterium; a bacillus.

  10. Slang A pistol or revolver.

  11. A portion of the undercarriage of a train, especially the drawbar under a freight car. Often used in the plural: ride the rods.


[Middle English rodd, from Old English.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
(hot) rod

  1. n.
    a car that has been customized for power and speed by the owner. : My rod'll outrun yours any day.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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rod

  1. n.
    a gun; a revolver. (Underworld.) : I got a rod in my pocket. Don't move.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

rod 
O.E. rodd "a rod, pole," related to O.N. rudda "club," of unknown origin. Figurative sense of "offshoot" (1460) led to Biblical meaning "scion, tribe." As an instrument of punishment, attested from c.1150; also used figuratively for "correction, punishment" from notion of beating someone with a stick. As a unit of measure (5.5 yards or 16.5 feet, also called perch or pole) first attested 1450. As a measure of area, "a square perch," from c.1477. Meaning "light-sensitive cell in a retina" is from 1866, so-called for its shape. Slang meaning "penis" is recorded from 1902; that of "gun, revolver" is from 1903.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: rod
Pronunciation: 'räd
Function: noun
1 : a straight slender pole or bar
2 : any of the long rod-shapedphotosensitive receptors in the retina responsive to faint light —compare CONE 2a
3 : a bacterium shapedlike a rod
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

rod (rŏd)
n.

  1. A straight slender cylindrical formation.

  2. A rod cell.

  3. An elongated bacterium; a bacillus.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
rod   (rŏd)  Pronunciation Key 
One of the rod-shaped cells in the retina of the eye of many vertebrate animals. Rods are more sensitive to light than cones and are responsible for the ability to see in dim light. However, rods are insensitive to red wavelengths of light and do not contribute greatly to the perception of color. Compare cone.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

rod

see hot rod; spare the rod.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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