# stud

Pronunciation: US say "STUD" /stʌd/; UK

## Noun

1. A small object that projects from a surface, such as an ornamental knob.
   - Simple: A small knob that sticks out from something, often to make it look nice.
   - _Her leather jacket was covered in silver studs and zippers._
   - _Each stud on the antique door was hand-forged and set in a neat diamond pattern._
2. An animal, especially a stallion, kept for breeding.
   - Simple: An animal, usually a male horse, that is kept so it can father young.
   - _The ranch charges a hefty fee for its prize stud, a gray Arabian stallion._
   - _Several of the studs on the farm have sired national champions._
3. A style of earring in which the decoration is mounted on a straight post.
   - Simple: An earring with its jewel or decoration on a short, straight post.
   - _For the wedding she chose simple pearl studs instead of dangling earrings._
   - _He has a small silver stud in his left ear._
5. One of the upright pieces of wood or metal in the frame of a wall, to which drywall, plaster laths or other coverings are fixed.
   - Simple: One of the upright pieces of wood or metal inside a wall that the wall covering is fixed to.
   - _Screw the shelf brackets into a stud, not just the drywall, or they will pull loose._
   - _In the old farmhouse, the plaster had crumbled away to reveal the lath nailed across the studs._
7. A man who is sexually attractive and has many casual sexual partners. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A man who is very sexy and has many lovers.
   - _In college he had a reputation as a stud, with a different date every weekend._
   - _The soap opera's studs spend most episodes jumping from one affair to the next._
8. A short metal rod or bolt, often threaded at both ends, fixed in one part and projecting from it.
   - Simple: A short metal pin or bolt that sticks out from a machine part.
   - _Each cylinder head is held down by ten studs and nuts._
   - _He snapped a stud while tightening the exhaust manifold and had to drill it out of the block._
9. Someone exceptionally talented and capable, in particular a standout athlete or a leading player. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: A person who is very good at something, especially a star player in a sport.
   - _The rookie shortstop has been an absolute stud at the plate all season._
   - _Every coach in the conference wants to recruit the studs from that high school._
10. A place where horses or other animals are kept for breeding, or the group of animals kept there.
   - Simple: A farm where horses or other animals are bred, or the animals kept there.
   - _He spent his summers working at a thoroughbred stud, mucking out stalls and walking yearlings._
   - _The country's leading studs sell their best yearlings at the fall auctions._
11. One of the small projections on the sole of a shoe, also called a cleat.
   - Simple: One of the small hard bumps on the bottom of a shoe that help it grip.
   - _He swapped in longer studs because the field was muddy after the rain._
   - _A loose stud can leave a nasty gash if a tackle goes wrong._
12. A form of poker in which players cannot discard and some of each player's cards are dealt face up.
   - Simple: A kind of poker where you keep the cards you get and some cards are shown to everyone.
   - _The casino's back room ran a high-stakes game of seven-card stud every Friday._
   - _He preferred stud to draw poker because he liked reading the cards his opponents showed._
13. Short for student: a person studying at a college or university, usually in phrases such as med stud or law stud. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of student.
   - Simple: Short form of student. It is a short, casual way to say student.
   - _As a broke law stud, he lived on instant noodles for three years._
   - _A fellow med stud lent me her notes the night before our anatomy exam._
14. A masculine-presenting lesbian, chiefly in African-American communities. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A lesbian who dresses and looks in a masculine way, mostly among African Americans.
   - _At thirty-five she was proud to call herself a stud and wore her suits like armor._
   - _Most of the studs at the club already had a femme waiting at the bar._
16. A small removable fastener shaped like a button, passed through buttonholes to close the front, collar or cuffs of a shirt, mainly on formal clothes.
   - Simple: A small button you can remove, pushed through the holes of a shirt to close it, mostly on dressy clothes.
   - _Before the gala, he fumbled with the onyx studs on his dress shirt._
   - _A single gold stud held his stiff wing collar in place._

## Verb

4. To set small objects, such as studs, nails, or pieces of food, into a surface at intervals.
   - Simple: To put small things into a surface here and there, such as studs on leather or garlic in meat.
   - _Stud the pork roast with slivers of garlic before it goes in the oven._
   - _The gardener studded the lawn with crocus bulbs so they would come up in scattered clumps._
6. Of things, to be scattered or set at intervals across a surface or area.
   - Simple: To be spread here and there over a surface, as houses stud the hills.
   - _Wooden farmhouses stud the rolling hills of the valley._
   - _Typos studded the first draft of her essay._

## Noun

15. A stem or trunk, as of a tree or shrub. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The trunk or stem of a tree or plant.

## Other meanings

- (noun) An iron crosspiece set across the narrow width of a chain cable's link to brace it.

## Origin

**Meanings 2, 7, 9–10, 14** — Old English stōd, which became Middle English stood or stod, goes back to Proto-West Germanic *stōd and Proto-Germanic *stōdą. Cognates include Old Norse stóð, Dutch stoet, German Stute, and Middle Low German stōt.
**Meanings 1, 3–6, 8, 11–12, 15–16** — Proto-Germanic *stuþs and Proto-West Germanic *stuþ led to Old English studu, which English inherited as Middle English stude.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/stud (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).