Nodding


[nod] /nɒd/

verb (used without object), nodded, nodding.
1.
to make a slight, quick downward bending forward of the head, as in assent, greeting, or command.
2.
to let the head fall slightly forward with a sudden, involuntary movement when sleepy.
3.
to doze, especially in a sitting position:
The speaker was so boring that half the audience was nodding.
4.
to become careless, inattentive, or listless; make an error or mistake through lack of attention.
5.
(of trees, flowers, plumes, etc.) to droop, bend, or incline with a swaying motion.
verb (used with object), nodded, nodding.
6.
to bend (the head) in a short, quick downward movement, as of assent or greeting.
7.
to express or signify by such a movement of the head:
to nod approval; to nod agreement.
8.
to summon, bring, or send by a nod of the head.
9.
to cause (something) to lean or sway; incline.
noun
10.
a short, quick downward bending forward of the head, as in assent, greeting, or command or because of drowsiness.
11.
a brief period of sleep; nap.
12.
a bending or swaying movement.
Verb phrases
13.
nod off, to fall asleep or doze, especially in a sitting position:
He was reprimanded for nodding off in class.
14.
nod out, Slang. to fall asleep, especially owing to the effects of a drug.
Idioms
15.
give the nod to, Informal. to express approval of; agree to:
The board gave the nod to the new proposal.
16.
on the nod,

/nɒd/
verb nods, nodding, nodded
1.
to lower and raise (the head) briefly, as to indicate agreement, invitation, etc
2.
(transitive) to express or indicate by nodding: she nodded approval
3.
(transitive) to bring or direct by nodding: she nodded me towards the manager’s office
4.
(intransitive) (of flowers, trees, etc) to sway or bend forwards and back
5.
(intransitive) to let the head fall forward through drowsiness; be almost asleep: the old lady sat nodding by the fire
6.
(intransitive) to be momentarily inattentive or careless: even Homer sometimes nods
7.
nodding acquaintance, a slight, casual, or superficial knowledge (of a subject or a person)
noun
8.
a quick down-and-up movement of the head, as in assent, command, etc: she greeted him with a nod
9.
a short sleep; nap See also land of Nod
10.
a swaying motion, as of flowers, etc, in the wind
11.
(informal) on the nod

12.
(boxing, informal) the nod, the award of a contest to a competitor on the basis of points scored
v.

“to quickly bow the head,” late 14c., of unknown origin, probably an Old English word, but not recorded; perhaps related to Old High German hnoton “to shake,” from Proto-Germanic *khnudojanan. Meaning “to drift in and out of consciousness while on drugs” is attested from 1968. Related: Nodded; nodding. A nodding acquaintance (1711) is one you know just well enough to greet with a nod.
n.

mid-15c., from nod (v.). Land of Nod “sleep” is a pun on the biblical place name (Gen. iv:16).

verb

To be intoxicated with narcotics to a very drowsy or stuporous state: with slews of rich kids nodding in the Scarsdale woods

[1960s+ Narcotics; the underlying sense, ”let the head fall forward when drowsy,” is found by 1562]

exile; wandering; unrest, a name given to the country to which Cain fled (Gen.4:16). It lay on the east of Eden.

In addition to the idiom beginning with nod

Read Also:

  • Nodding-acquaintance

    noun 1. a slight, incomplete, or superficial knowledge (of something or someone): He had only a nodding acquaintance with Italian and didn’t trust it to get him through the tour. Although we were neighbors for several years, we had only a nodding acquaintance. 2. a person with whom one is only slightly acquainted: I don’t […]

  • Nodding dog

    noun 1. a small model of a dog carried as a mascot in a motor vehicle, with a head so mounted that it moves up and down with the motion of the vehicle

  • Nodding donkey

    noun 1. (informal) (in the oil industry) a type of reciprocating pump used to extract oil from an inland well

  • Nodding-lilac

    noun 1. a showy Chinese lilac, Syringa reflexa, of the olive family, having nodding clusters of pinkish flowers.

  • Nodding-pogonia

    noun 1. a rare orchid, Triphora trianthophora, of the eastern U.S., bearing three pink flowers.


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