What does "fodder" mean?
Food for animals; that which is fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, such as hay, cornstalks, vegetables, etc.
Fodder
/ˈfɒdə/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Food for animals; that which is fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, such as hay, cornstalks, vegetables, etc.
- Grammar: fodder is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: agricultural feedstock, barley, bed, bed down.
- Useful contrasts: dampen, deprive, irrelevance.
- Usage evidence: Since children are more scared than amused by clowns, I wonder if some comedy trope of ours will become horror fodder in 100 years.
How to use "fodder"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fodder" 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 "fodder" 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 "fodder" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "fodder" 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 "fodder" is acting as noun, verb, 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 "agricultural feedstock" 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 "fodder", 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 Food for animals; that which is fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, such as hay, cornstalks, vegetables, etc. countable, uncountable
"The sheep for fodder follow the shepherd, the shepherd for food follows not the sheep."
- 2 coarse food (especially for livestock) composed of entire plants or the leaves and stalks of a cereal crop wordnet
- 3 A load: various English units of weight or volume based upon standardized cartloads of certain commodities, generally around 1000 kg. countable, historical, uncountable
"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."
- 4 soldiers who are regarded as expendable in the face of artillery fire wordnet
- 5 Tracing paper. countable, slang, uncountable
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Stuff; material; something that serves as inspiration or encouragement, especially for satire or humour. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"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."
- 7 The text to be operated on (anagrammed, etc.) within a clue. countable, uncountable
"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."
- 8 People considered to have negligible value and easily available or expendable. countable, uncountable
"Innocent people who are arrested become fodder for the justice system."
Verb
- 1 To feed animals (with fodder). dialectal
"Straw will do well enough to fodder them with"
- 2 give fodder (to domesticated animals) wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Since children are more scared than amused by clowns, I wonder if some comedy trope of ours will become horror fodder in 100 years."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "fodder"?
Common synonyms include: agricultural feedstock, barley, bed, bed down, bird seed, board.
How do you use "fodder" in a sentence?
Since children are more scared than amused by clowns, I wonder if some comedy trope of ours will become horror fodder in 100 years.
How do you pronounce "fodder"?
Pronounced /ˈfɒdə/.
Etymology
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.