rod
noun
- a straight, slender shoot or stem cut from, or still part of, a bush or tree
- Bible an offshoot or branch of a family or tribe; stock or race
- any straight, or almost straight, stick, shaft, bar, staff, etc., of wood, metal, or other material: curtain rods, a lightning rod
- a stick or switch, or a bundle of sticks or switches, for beating as punishment
- punishment; chastisement: usually with the
- a staff, scepter, etc., carried as a symbol of office, rank, or power
- power; authority; often, tyrannical rule
- fishing rod
- a stick used to measure something
- a unit of length in the FPS system, equal to 16.5 feet or 5.5 yards (5.0292 meters): abbrev. rd
- a square rod, equal to 30.25 square yards (25.2929 square meters)
- ☆ Slang a pistol or revolver
- ☆ Slang hot rod
- Anat. any of the rod-shaped cells in the retina of the vertebrate eye that are sensitive to dim light
- Bacteriology any microorganism shaped like a bacillus
See rod in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(rŏd)
noun- A thin straight piece or bar of material, such as metal or wood, often having a particular function or use, as:
a. A fishing rod.
b. A piston rod.
c. An often expandable horizontal bar, especially of metal, used to suspend household items such as curtains or towels.
d. A leveling rod.
e. A lightning rod.
f. A divining rod.
g. A measuring stick.
- A shoot or stem cut from or growing as part of a woody plant.
a. A stick or bundle of sticks or switches used to give punishment by whipping.
b. Punishment; correction.
- A scepter, staff, or wand symbolizing power or authority.
- Power or dominion, especially of a tyrannical nature: “under the rod of a cruel slavery” (John Henry Newman).
- Abbr. rd
a. A linear measure equal to 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet (5.03 meters). Also called pole2.
b. The square of this measure, equal to 30.25 square yards or 272.25 square feet (25.30 square meters). See Table at
measurement.
- Bible A line of family descent; a branch of a tribe.
- Anatomy Any of various rod-shaped cells in the retina that respond to dim light.
- Microbiology An elongated bacterium; a bacillus.
- Slang A pistol or revolver.
- A portion of the undercarriage of a train, especially the drawbar under a freight car. Often used in the plural: ride the rods.
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