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PlainSpell

goad

/ɡoʊd/noun, verb

goad is spelled G-O-A-D: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, goad means “A long, pointed stick used to prod animals” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of goad is goads.

How many letters and syllables are in goad?

Letters4: G-O-A-D
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 2 million words; the 44,209th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is goad?

Goad appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce goad?

  • UK /ɡəʊd/
  • US /ɡoʊd/

Goad has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-goad.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with goad?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as goad from its last stressed vowel (/oʊd/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: dago, doga.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of goad

  • goads plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • goading participle, present
  • goaded participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does goad mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A long, pointed stick used to prod animals.

  2. 2

    That which goads or incites; a stimulus.

verb

  1. 1

    To prod with a goad.

  2. 2

    To encourage or stimulate.

  3. 3

    To incite or provoke.

    goading a boy to fight

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Goad in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchaiguillon (pointed stick used to prod animals), aiguillonner (to prod with a goad), provoquer (to incite or provoke)
GermanStachelstock (pointed stick used to prod animals), anstacheln, antreiben (to prod with a goad), reizen, aufreizen (to incite or provoke), anspornen (to encourage or stimulate)
Spanishpicana, puya, aguijada, aguijadera, terigüela (pointed stick used to prod animals), puyar (to prod with a goad)
Portugueseincitar, provocar, atiçar (to incite or provoke)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does goad come from?

From Middle English gode, from Old English gād (“goad”), from Proto-Germanic *gaidō (compare Old Norse gedda (“pike (fish)”), Lombardic gaida (“spear”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰey- (compare Old Irish gath (“spear”), Sanskrit हिन्वति (hinvati), हिनोति (hinoti, “to urge on, throw”), हेति (heti, “missile, projectile”)). Doublet of gad and yard; see also xyston.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after goad