Meaning & use
spod
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Meanings
nouncountableBritishinformaldisapproving
A person, often a student, who is thought to be dull or unfashionable, especially for studying very hard or caring too much about a narrow interest.
Grammar: Used about a person, usually by others: he was called a spod.
Patterns
- a bit of a spod
- call someone a spod
At school he was teased as a spod because he spent lunchtimes in the library.
She laughed and admitted she was a bit of a spod when it came to chemistry.
The other kids called him a spod, though he later became a successful engineer.
nouncountableBritishinformal
A person with an obsessive, nerdy interest in a particular activity or subject, such as a computer fan or a train enthusiast.
Grammar: Often follows the interest: a computer spod, a train spod.
Patterns
- a computer spod
- a spod about something
He's a proper computer spod who can talk about processors for hours.
The club was full of rail spods trading timetables.
I'm a bit of a spod about old maps.
Word forms
| plural | spods |
|---|
Common combinations
- a bit of a spod
- I was always a bit of a spod in maths class.
- computer spod
- The computer spod fixed the printer in two minutes.
- call someone a spod
- Don't call him a spod; he's just focused.
- school spod
- The school spod turned out to be the best coder in class.
- music spod
- My brother is a music spod with thousands of records.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nerd
- Nerd is the most widely understood term and can be affectionate, whereas spod is mainly British and a little more dismissive.
- geek
- Geek puts the focus on strong enthusiasm for a subject, while spod often suggests the person is also seen as unfashionable.
- swot
- Swot is British slang for someone who studies very hard, so it matches the first sense of spod, but it does not cover hobbyists.
- bookworm
- Bookworm is a gentle, usually positive word for someone who reads a lot, while spod is more teasing.
Opposites
Word family
- spoddy adjective
- typical of a spod, dull or overly studious
- spodding noun
- the act of studying or obsessing in a spod-like way
Commonly confused: spod or sod?
spod vs sod
Sod is a different word: it means a piece of turf, or in British slang an annoying person. It is not about studying or hobbies.
Practice
In British slang, which word best describes a student teased for studying all the time and having no interest in being cool?
Choose one answer.
A spod is a dull-seeming, overly studious person in British slang. The other nouns are real but have nothing to do with studying.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spod”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.