fodder
/'fɔdə/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- Coarse food for livestock: Plant material, such as dried hay, straw, or entire cereal plants, that is used to feed domesticated animals like cattle and horses.
- A readily available resource or material for a particular purpose: Used figuratively to describe people or things that are treated as a disposable or inexhaustible supply for a system, often in a negative context.
Verb:
- To give fodder to animals: To provide domesticated animals with coarse feed.
Usage Examples
Noun (literal meaning):
- The farmer stored the winter fodder in the barn.
- Alfalfa is a common type of fodder for dairy cows.
Noun (figurative meaning):
- The scandal provided endless fodder for the newspapers.
- Young recruits were seen as mere cannon fodder in the war.
Verb:
- Remember to fodder the horses before sunset.
Advanced Usage
"Cannon fodder": A critical idiom referring to soldiers regarded as expendable in battle.
- The general was accused of treating his men as nothing but cannon fodder.
"Fodder for thought": A play on the phrase "food for thought," meaning material that provokes thinking or discussion.
- The controversial study provided ample fodder for thought among scientists.
Variants and Related Words
- Forage (n/v): Food for animals, especially taken by browsing or grazing; the act of searching for food.
- The deer searched for forage under the snow.
Synonyms
- Feed (n): Food for animals.
- Provender (n): Dry food for livestock.
- Hay (n): Grass that has been mown and dried for use as fodder.
Related Phrases
- Fodder crop: A crop grown specifically to be harvested as feed for animals.
- Corn is often planted as a fodder crop.
Noun
- coarse food (especially for livestock) composed of entire plants or the leaves and stalks of a cereal crop
- soldiers who are regarded as expendable in the face of artillery fire
Verb
- give fodder (to domesticated animals)