rod

Pluralrods

Formsrods, rodding, rodded

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A thin, straight bar of wood, metal, or other hard material, such as a stick, shaft, or pole in a frame.

   He bent the steel rod into a smooth curve with his bare hands.

   She hung the new curtains from a brass rod above the kitchen window.

   Similarbar, pole, stick, shaft, dowel

   Note

   The plain sense every other rod grows from. Neither material nor scale is fixed: Jeff Edwards's 'Rods from God' (2025) describes a proposed weapon that would drop telephone-pole-sized tungsten rods from orbit. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Jeff Edwards wrote the article referred to as 'Rods from God', published in 2025. en.wiktionary.org
   • The article describes a proposed weapon that would drop telephone-pole-sized tungsten rods from orbit. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   fishing polenouncountable

   A long, slender, usually tapering pole used for angling.

   She reeled in slowly, her rod bending as the trout fought on the line.

   Fly anglers favor lighter rods for a more delicate presentation.

   Similarpole

   Note

   In angling talk the bare word does the work of fishing rod, as when a startled fisherman drops his rod in the water after hooking a snake. Its slender, tapering build is the working part: fiberglass, carbon fiber or split cane, with line guides along its length and a reel seat to hold the reel. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Fishing rods are slender, tapering implements with line guides and a reel seat that attaches the reel. daiwafishing.com.au
   • Fiberglass and carbon fiber are fishing-rod materials. en.wikipedia.org
   • Fishing rods can also be made from split cane. teara.govt.nz
3. 3
   machine partnouncountable

   A bar connecting moving parts of a machine or engine, such as a piston and crankshaft or a locomotive's driving wheels.

   Each piston connects to the crankshaft through a sturdy steel rod.

   On the old sewing machine, a thin rod carries power from the treadle to the wheel.

   UsageSet phrase: an engine throws a rod when one breaks loose. Compounds name the job: connecting rod.

   Similarbar

   Note

   Engines give this rod its idiom: an engine that throws a rod has had one break loose, and the broken rod can punch through the crankcase and wreck the engine. Compounds name the job: a connecting rod carries a piston's thrust to the crankshaft, and on a steam locomotive a coupling rod links the driving wheels. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • Throwing a rod refers to failure of an engine's connecting rod. en.wikipedia.org
   • A broken connecting rod can puncture the crankcase and ruin the engine; the described disintegration with flying springs and coils is not a necessary consequence. en.wikipedia.org
   • A connecting rod transmits a piston's thrust to the crankshaft. files.eric.ed.gov
   • A steam locomotive's coupling rod connects its driving wheels. en.wikipedia.org
4. 4
   custom carnounslangcountable

   An older automobile, often based on a pre-1940s model, modified to run faster and frequently restyled on the outside.

   Every weekend the old rod rumbled to life for a drive along the coast.

   Collectors pay high prices for well-built rods from the 1950s.

   UsageShort for hot rod; outside car circles, the full form is clearer.

   Note

   Car enthusiasts clip hot rod to the bare noun, so in their talk a rod is an older car rebuilt for speed. The same clipping gives the verb of souped-up driving. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The automotive noun rod is a shortened form of hot rod. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   nouncountable

   A stick or bundle of twigs used to beat someone as punishment; also punishment of this kind.

   Many schools once treated the rod as the proper answer to disobedience.

   She finally put aside the rod and chose to reason with the child instead.

   UsageUsually with the: strokes with the rod. Best known from the proverb spare the rod and spoil the child.

   Similarcane, birch, switch, stick

   Note

   Here the rod has become a name for punishment itself: the cane, or whatever else does the work, is still called the rod. Compare the plain stick or bar.

6. 6
   eye cellnouncountable

   A slender, cylinder-shaped cell in the eye that is sensitive to light.

   In near darkness, the eye relies almost entirely on its rods.

   A single rod can respond to a very small amount of light.

   UsageUsually plural and paired with cones: rods and cones. Say rod cell when the eye is not already the topic.

   Note

   Anatomy pairs this word with cones: the two are the light-sensitive cells of the retina, and the word usually appears in the plural. Rods take their name from the cylindrical shape of their outer segment. They are the more sensitive of the two and carry vision in low light, but they do not discern color. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Rods and cones are light-sensitive cells in the retina. nba.uth.tmc.edu
   • Rods are named after the cylindrical shape of their outer segments. digitalhistology.org
   • Rods are more sensitive to light than cones. en.wikipedia.org
   • Rods support vision in low light but do not distinguish colors. nigms.nih.gov
7. 7
   bacteriumnouncountable

   Any of various long, slender microorganisms, such as rod-shaped bacteria.

   The lab technician identified several rods among the stained cells.

   A single rod can multiply into millions within a matter of hours.

   Similarbacillus

   Note

   Microbiologists sort cells by shape, and rods stand beside cocci and spirals in that scheme. Bacilli are the best-known rods. The term describes a shape, not a family, so it combines naturally with a staining result: a technician looks for gram-positive rods, for instance when hunting for Listeria. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Bacterial cells are classified by shape, including rods, cocci and spirals. atcc.org
   • Bacilli are rod-shaped microorganisms; the shape does not define a single taxonomic family. en.wikipedia.org
   • Shape descriptions can be combined with Gram-staining results, and identifying Listeria involves looking for Gram-positive rods. rcpath.org
8. 8
   penisnounslangvulgarcountable

   A vulgar slang term for the penis.

   The locker-room banter was full of boasts about whose rod was bigger.

   He grabbed his rod and made a vulgar gesture at the jeering crowd.

   Similardick, cock, tool, penis

   Note

   This is coarse slang, never a neutral word. It names the organ after something stiff and straight, borrowing its image from the plain stick or bar. Bruce Jackson's Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me (1974) shows it in a threatening sexual boast. Keep it to speech that is meant to be crude. The matching verb carries the same vulgar register. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • The sexual sense uses a metaphor based on physical resemblance to a rod. ruidera.uclm.es
   • Bruce Jackson collected and compiled Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me. buffalo.edu
   • The book was first published in 1974. buffalo.edu
   • The book contains rod meaning penis in a threatening sexual boast. en.wiktionary.org

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