What does "bode" mean?
An omen; a foreshadowing.
Bode
/bəʊd/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An omen; a foreshadowing.
- Grammar: bode is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: augur, foreshadow, portend, presage.
- Usage evidence: The sound of a trumpet will bode the end of the world.
How to use "bode"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bode" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bode" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bode" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bode" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bode" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "augur" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bode", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An omen; a foreshadowing.
- 2 A bid; an offer. dialectal, obsolete
"What bode ye shall to your lord bear?"
- 3 A herald; a messenger.
"[T]he fame of the Duke's coming was sent abroad by the bodes or messengers, despatched to prepare the towns through which he was to pass for an arrival sooner than expected, […]"
- 4 A stop; a halting; delay.
Verb
- 1 To indicate by signs, as future events; to be an omen of; to portend or foretell. ambitransitive
"O heaven, O earth, bear witness to this sound, And crown what I profess with kind event If I speak true; if hollowly invert What best is boded me to mischief: I, Beyond all limit of what else i' th' world, Do love, prize, honour you."
- 2 simple past of bide form-of, past
- 3 indicate, as with a sign or an omen wordnet
- 4 To betoken or augur something good or bad that will happen in the future. intransitive, usually
"Whatever now / The omen prove, it boded well to you."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A male given name.
- 3 A city in Iowa.
- 4 A village in Nepal.
- 5 A river in Germany, a tributary to the Saale
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A small river and tributary to the Wipper
Example
"The sound of a trumpet will bode the end of the world."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bode"?
Common synonyms include: augur, foreshadow, portend, presage, adumbrate, apprehend.
How do you use "bode" in a sentence?
The sound of a trumpet will bode the end of the world.
How do you pronounce "bode"?
Pronounced /bəʊd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Verb from Middle English boden, from Old English bodian (“announce, foretell”), from Proto-West Germanic *bodōn, from Proto-Germanic *budōną (“to proclaim, announce, lere, instruct”). See bid. Noun from Middle English bod, from Old English bod, from Proto-Germanic *budą (“message, offer”). Since 1740 also a shortening of forebode.
Etymology 2
From Middle English bod, from Old English bod (“a bidding”), from Proto-West Germanic *bod, from Proto-Germanic *budą (“a bidding, offer”). Cognate with Swedish bud, Dutch bod, Icelandic boð, Faroese boð, Norwegian Nynorsk bod, Norwegian Bokmål bud. Compare also Old Saxon gibod, German Gebot. See bid.
Etymology 3
From Middle English bode, from Old English boda (“messenger, forerunner”), from Proto-West Germanic *bodō, from Proto-Germanic *budô (“messenger”); related to the verb (etymology 1). Cognate with Dutch bode (“messenger, harbinger”), German Bote (“messenger”).
Etymology 4
From Middle English bod, bode, bade, baide, partially a clipping of Middle English abod (“a stopping”), and partially continuing Old English bād (“a waiting, expectation”), from Proto-West Germanic *baidu, from Proto-Germanic *baidō.
Etymology 5
Inflected form of bide.
Etymology 6
* As a Dutch and German surname, from bode (“messenger”). * As a German and Danish surname, from the name Bodo, derived from Old Saxon bodo (“messenger”), related to above. * As a Dutch and German surname, from Bude (“booth, small house”).