GOAD

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does goad mean? 

• GOAD (noun)
  The noun GOAD has 2 senses:

1. a pointed instrument that is used to prod into a state of motion

2. a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something

  Familiarity information: GOAD used as a noun is rare.

• GOAD (verb)
  The verb GOAD has 4 senses:

1. give heart or courage to

2. urge with or as if with a goad

3. stab or urge on as if with a pointed stick

4. annoy or provoke, as by constant criticism

  Familiarity information: GOAD used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GOAD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A pointed instrument that is used to prod into a state of motion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

goad; prod

Hypernyms ("goad" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "goad"):

ankus (an elephant goad with a sharp spike and a hook)

gad; spur (a sharp prod fixed to a rider's heel and used to urge a horse onward)

Derivation:

goad (stab or urge on as if with a pointed stick)

goad (urge with or as if with a goad)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A verbalization that encourages you to attempt something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

goad; goading; prod; prodding; spur; spurring; urging

Context example:

the ceaseless prodding got on his nerves

Hypernyms ("goad" is a kind of...):

encouragement (the expression of approval and support)

Derivation:

goad (annoy or provoke, as by constant criticism)

goad (urge with or as if with a goad)

goad (give heart or courage to)

• GOAD (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they goad    ... he / she / it goads   
Past simple: goaded   
Past participle: goaded   
-ing form: goading   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give heart or courage to

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

goad; spur

Hypernyms (to "goad" is one way to...):

encourage (inspire with confidence; give hope or courage to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

goad (a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Urge with or as if with a goad

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "goad" is one way to...):

egg on; incite; prod (urge on; cause to act)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "goad"):

spur (goad with spurs)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

goad (a pointed instrument that is used to prod into a state of motion)

goad; goading (a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Stab or urge on as if with a pointed stick

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

goad; prick

Hypernyms (to "goad" is one way to...):

jab; stab (stab or pierce)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

goad (a pointed instrument that is used to prod into a state of motion)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Annoy or provoke, as by constant criticism

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

goad; needle

Context example:

He needled her with his sarcastic remarks

Hypernyms (to "goad" is one way to...):

beset; chevvy; chevy; chivvy; chivy; harass; harry; hassle; molest; plague; provoke (annoy continually or chronically)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

goad; goading (a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something)

 Context examples 

Half conscious, but ever with the one thought beating in his mind, he goaded the horse onwards, rushing swiftly down steep ravines over huge boulders, along the edges of black abysses.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was sheer frenzy of this sort which made him throw his hands up into the air when his father, at their last interview, was goading him on to propose to Miss Turner.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The warm taste of it in his mouth goaded him to greater fierceness.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Oh, that fear of his self-abandonment—far worse than my abandonment—how it goaded me!

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)