plod
/plɑd/noun, verb
plod is spelled P-L-O-D: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,055th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, plod means “A slow or labored walk or other motion or activity” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of plod is plods.
How many letters and syllables are in plod?
| Letters | 4: P-L-O-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,055th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 plod?
Plod appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,055th 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 plod?
- UK /plɒd/
- US /plɑd/
Plod 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: En-us-plod.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with plod?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as plod from its last stressed vowel (/ɑd/):
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 plod
- plods present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- plodding participle, present
- plodded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does plod mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A slow or labored walk or other motion or activity.
We started at a brisk walk and ended at a plod.
- 2
UKderogatorythe police, police officers
- 3
UKderogatorya police officer, especially a low-ranking one.
- 4
obsoleteA puddle.
verb
- 1
To walk or move slowly and heavily or laboriously (+ on, through, over).
- 2
To trudge over or through.
- 3
To toil; to drudge; especially, to study laboriously and patiently.
On Sundays I keep plodding along at my job.
- 4
To extrude (soap, margarine, etc.) through a die plate so it can be cut into billets.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Plod in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to walk slowly:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | marcher lourdement |
| German | stapfen |
| Spanish | caminar pesadamente, andar arduamente, caminar dispendiosamente, andar fatigosamente, caminar penosamente |
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 plod come from?
From Middle English *plodden (found only in derivative plodder), probably originally a splash through water and mud, from plodde, pludde (“a puddle”) (whence modern plud). Compare Scots plod, plodge, plodder, dialectal Dutch plodden, plodderen, dialectal German ploddern, Danish pladder (“mire”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).