Prod Meaning
/pɹɒd/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo poke, to push, to touch.
verbTo encourage, to prompt.
Sentence Examples
No matter how much I prod her, she refuses to start working on the assignment.
Don't prod your food with your fork like that.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The farmer used a stick to ____ the lazy ox to get it moving.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She had to ____ her reluctant colleague several times before he finally agreed to submit the report.
Word Origin & History
Alteration of earlier brod (perhaps through influence of poke; compare prog), from Middle English brodden (“to goad, incite, urge; to sprout”), from brod (“goad, nail; shoot, sprout”), from Old Norse broddr (“shaft, spike, thorn”), from Proto-Germanic *bruzdaz. Cognate with Icelandic broddur, Danish brod. Doublet of brad. Or, from or influenced by sound symbolism.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied far more effort than was spent in originating the theories."
— 2012 January 26, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2013, page 86:
"The 125-pound prod (bow) drives bolt at 250 feet per second."
— 1983, Popular Mechanics:
"'Could be a lot of things,' McCormack said. 'Still, it narrows things down. Probably a Prod […]'."
— 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 47:
"It was sound advice for anyone visiting Northern Ireland in 1999 and remains so today: do not refer to Protestants as “Prods”, or to Catholics as “Fenians” or “Taigs”, and whatever you do don’t refer to your visit as “being out here”."
— [2023 August 23, Rory Carroll, “Files reveal terms ministers were warned not to use in Northern Ireland”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The farmer used a stick to ____ the lazy ox to get it moving.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She had to ____ her reluctant colleague several times before he finally agreed to submit the report.