nods

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of nod.

   The chairman nods to signal that the meeting may begin.

   Whenever the music starts, she nods along to the beat.

   Note

   One spelling carries several quite different verbs, and the object usually tells them apart. With an object it means signaling by a nod, as in she nods her approval. Without one it can mean agreeing, swaying to a beat, drifting toward sleep, or slipping up through a moment's tiredness. So he nods can describe assent, a doze or a lapse, and only the context settles which.

   She nods her approval without saying a word.

   By midnight the old man nods in his chair by the fire.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of nod.

   He answered the questions with silent nods rather than words.

   The proposal won several approving nods around the table.

   Note

   The plural covers the countable senses of nod: the gestures themselves, the allusions, and the nominations. A film can be full of nods to its predecessors, and a performer can collect several nods in an awards season. Figurative approval pluralizes as well, which is why a proposal can win nods around a table. In the allusion sense the plural is almost always followed by to.

   The new film is packed with nods to the classics it imitates.

   The actress picked up three nods for her performance this year.

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