fodder

Syllables: fod·derUK/ˈfɒdə/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/ˈfɔdə/

fodder noun: food for animals; that which is fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, such as hay, cornstalks, vegetables, etc.

Noun

fodder (countable and uncountable, plural fodders)

Food for animals; that which is fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, such as hay, cornstalks, vegetables, etc.
- The sheep for fodder follow the shepherd, the shepherd for food follows not the sheep.c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
Synonyms:

forage, provender
(historical) A load: various English units of weight or volume based upon standardized cartloads of certain commodities, generally around 1000 kg.
- Now measured by the old hundred, that is, 108 lbs. the charrus contains nearly 19 1/2 hundreds, that is it corresponds to the fodder, or fother, of modern times.1866, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 1, page 168
Synonyms:

load
(slang) Tracing paper.
(figuratively) Stuff; material; something that serves as inspiration or encouragement, especially for satire or humour.
- According to the audio commentary on “Treehouse Of Horror III,” some of the creative folks at The Simpsons were concerned that the “Treehouse Of Horror” franchise had outworn its welcome and was rapidly running out of classic horror or science-fiction fodder to spoof.2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)
(crosswording) The text to be operated on (anagrammed, etc.) within a clue.
- In (part of) Shelley's poem Ozymandias is a "crumbling statue". If this is the explanation then the clue is not a reverse cryptic in the same was^([sic]) as GEGS -> SCRAMBLED EGGS but a normal clue where where^([sic]) the fodder and anagrind are *both* indirect.2009, Colin Blackburn, “another 1-off cryptic clue.”, in rec.puzzles.crosswords (Usenet)
- Insane Roman! (4) […] Look in -sane Roman and you'll uncover NERO, the insane Roman. Dovetailing the signpost — in — with the hidden fodder — sane Roman — is inspired, an embedded style of signposting.2012, David Astle, Puzzled: Secrets and clues from a life in words
People considered to have negligible value and easily available or expendable.
- Innocent people who are arrested become fodder for the justice system.
- cannon fodder

Verb

fodder (third-person singular simple present fodders, present participle foddering, simple past and past participle foddered)

(dialectal) To feed animals (with fodder).
- Straw will do well enough to fodder them with1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC
- "When I had foddered the horse, I went into the barn and took the handle of an old rake to chase the dog out with."1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 34

fodder meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

fodder in Tamil

தீனி, தீனி தீவனம், தீவனம், ஊண், தீவனப் பயிர், இரை

fodder in Urdu

fodder, provender, grass, hay: علف 'alaf

More languagesFewer languages

fodder in Telugu: పశుగ్రాసం
fodder in Malayalam: കന്നുകാലിത്തീറ്റ, പുല്ല്, വയ്ക്കോൽ
fodder in Kannada: ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳ ಆಹಾರ prāṇigaḷa āhāra
fodder in Punjabi: گھاہ ghāh
fodder in Gujarati: ઘાસ ghās
fodder in Sanskrit: विधा vidhā, विधि vidhi
fodder in Nepali: घाँस ghā̃s
fodder in Arabic: عَلَف ʕalaf
fodder in Malay: foder
fodder in Persian: علوفه 'olufe, قرموت qormut

Examples of fodder in a sentence

He listened to music on his media player while he worked out on the treadmill: a classic use of background fodder.
In the agribulk sector the main products transported are grais, animal fodder and fertilizers.
Where gauchers are poor or nonexistent, fodder feeding is an option.

All 33 example sentences with fodder

Synonyms of fodder

Forms of fodder

Noun
plural	fodders
Verb
third-person singular present	fodders
present participle	foddering
past participle	foddered
past	foddered

Plural of fodder: fodders

Origin of fodder

From Middle English fodder, foder, from Old English fōdor (“feed; fodder”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą, from *fōdô (“food”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Compare Saterland Frisian Fodder, West Frisian foer, Dutch voer (“pasture; fodder”), German Futter (“fodder; feed”), Danish foder, Swedish foder. More at food.

Words formed from fodder

Phrases with fodder

Words that rhyme with fodder

Questions about fodder

What does fodder mean?: Fodder means food for animals; that which is fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, such as hay, cornstalks, vegetables, etc.
What is fodder in Hindi?: Fodder in Hindi is चारा (cārā). See Fodder meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is fodder?: Fodder can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce fodder?: Fodder is pronounced /ˈfɒdə/ (UK).
What is the plural of fodder?: The plural of fodder is fodders.

Words near fodder in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-fodder.ogg.

Cite this entry: “fodder.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fodder. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.