What does "clodhopper" mean?
A strong shoe for heavy-duty use, a boot.
Clodhopper
/ˈklɑdˌhɑpɚ/ noun, slang
noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A strong shoe for heavy-duty use, a boot.
- Grammar: clodhopper is listed as noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: blockhead, blunderhead, boor, boot.
- Useful contrasts: city slicker, cultured person, dress shoe.
- Usage evidence: How do you expect me to turn this clumsy clodhopper into an athlete?
How to use "clodhopper"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clodhopper" 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 "clodhopper" 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 "clodhopper" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clodhopper" 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 "clodhopper" is acting as noun, slang 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 "blockhead" 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 "clodhopper", 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 A strong shoe for heavy-duty use, a boot.
"...who had got on his "hill shoes," as he calls a pair of clodhoppers as thick as a ploughman's, and stuck round with nails."
- 2 a thick and heavy shoe wordnet
- 3 Any shoe construed (within a particular context) as ungainly. US
"We had to walk slow because of his wooden clod-hoppers, and that was the way I wanted it now"
- 4 United States Navy ankle length work shoes, distinct from dress shoes or combat boots. slang
"Smiling Jim Mead of New York tries on his GI clodhopper boots. He decided to return them "because we couldn't make any altitude with those aboard.""
- 5 A peasant or yokel.
"[…] now a book is no greater rarity than bacon and greens in Virginia; and the clodhopper of this country returns from his daily labours to a book […]"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A clumsy or foolish person. UK
"All guess-work exploits shrivel up a good yard, or sometimes two, when brought to the measure, and the champion of the county dwindles into a clumsy clod-hopper."
- 7 Wheatear: any of various passerine birds.
"...and as the birds then begin to resort to the downs and open commons, the "fallow-chat," "wheat-ear," and "clodhopper," are not unappropriate names."
Antonyms
Example
"How do you expect me to turn this clumsy clodhopper into an athlete?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clodhopper"?
Common synonyms include: blockhead, blunderhead, boor, boot, brogan, brogue.
How do you use "clodhopper" in a sentence?
How do you expect me to turn this clumsy clodhopper into an athlete?
How do you pronounce "clodhopper"?
Pronounced /ˈklɑdˌhɑpɚ/.
Etymology
Compound of clod + hopper (agentive form of the verb hop). Perhaps affected by analogy with grasshopper. Attested in the sense of "peasant" since the seventeenth century; the extended sense of "boot" or "shoe" dates from the nineteenth century.