spud

[ spuhd ]

noun

1. Informal. a potato.
2. a spadelike instrument, especially one with a narrow blade, as for digging up or cutting the roots of weeds.
3. a chisel-like tool for removing bark.
4. a pointed leg or stake for staying or supporting dredging or earth-boring machinery.
5. a short pipe, as for connecting a water pipe with a meter.
6. Surgery. an instrument having a dull flattened blade for removing substances or foreign bodies from certain parts of the body, as wax from the ear.

verb (used with object)

, spud·ded, spud·ding.

1. to remove with a spud.

verb phrase

1. to set up earth-boring equipment, especially for drilling an oil well.

spud

/ spʌd /

noun

1. an informal word for potato
2. a narrow-bladed spade for cutting roots, digging up weeds, etc
3. Also calledspudder a tool, resembling a chisel, for removing bark from trees

verb

1. tr to remove (bark) or eradicate (weeds) with a spud
2. intr to drill the first foot of an oil-well

Word History and Origins

Origin of spud¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English spudde “short knife”; further origin unknown

Word History and Origins

Origin of spud¹

C15 spudde short knife, of unknown origin; applied later to a digging tool, and hence to a potato

Example Sentences

Cedric Porter, a potato market expert, said the rise in spud prices had been "dramatic".

From BBC

Cantwell is right to defend the spud against this line of attack.

From Seattle Times

Potatoes are not native to Ireland, but matters of geography, politics, economics and agriculture all played an important part in establishing the humble spud as a standby in the diets of much of Ireland's working population by the middle of the 19th century.

From Salon

But the case, like so many others, fell by the flesh of the spud.

From New York Times

It all began when boyhood friends and USC graduates Richard Knerr and Arthur “Spud” Melin began making wooden slingshots in Knerr’s parents’ South Pasadena garage, naming the company after the sound the projectile made when it hit its target, according to the company’s online “Fun Facts about Wham-O.”

From Los Angeles Times