clod

American  

[klod] / klɒd /

noun

1. a lump or mass, especially of earth or clay.

2. a stupid person; blockhead; dolt.

   Synonyms:

   dunce, oaf, lout, yokel, boor

3. earth; soil.

4. something of lesser dignity or value, as the body as contrasted with the soul.

   this corporeal clod.

5. a part of a shoulder of beef.

---

clod British  

/ klɒd /

noun

1. a lump of earth or clay

2. earth, esp when heavy or in hard lumps

3. Also called: clodpole.   clod poll.   clodpate.  a dull or stupid person

4. a cut of beef taken from the shoulder

---

Other Word Forms

• cloddily adverb
• cloddiness noun
• cloddish adjective
• cloddishly adverb
• cloddishness noun
• cloddy adjective
• clodlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of clod

1400–50; late Middle English clodde, Old English clod- (in clodhamer fieldfare); cloud

Example Sentences

Whether it's a twig, a pebble or a clod of dirt, the randomness you get on a large scale is the same.

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2024

In another, weeds frozen under a dusting of snow wilt into a clod of root-tangled soil.

From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2023

Tau proteins play an important role in stabilizing neurons, but with age, they can start to clod together, forming tangles that are neurotoxic and can jam themselves into the entire intracellular space of a neuron.

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2022

The one of Rizzo, which was taken down on June 2, makes him look like a misshapen clod in an awkwardly buttoned jacket.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2020

Then a flat, wet clod of dead leaves shot clean through the gap and landed clear of the hedge, close to Hazel.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

Related Words

• clodpoll