rod

A straight, round stick, shaft, bar, cane, or staff.

A longitudinal pole used for forming part of a framework such as an awning or tent.

A long slender usually tapering pole used for angling; fishing rod.

“When I hooked a snake and not a fish, I got so scared I dropped my rod in the water.”

A stick, pole, or bundle of switches or twigs (such as a birch), used for personal defense or to administer corporal punishment by whipping.

An implement resembling and/or supplanting a rod (particularly a cane) that is used for corporal punishment, and metonymically called the rod, regardless of its actual shape and composition.

“The judge imposed on the thief a sentence of fifteen strokes with the rod.”

A stick used to measure distance, by using its established length or task-specific temporary marks along its length, or by dint of specific graduated marks.

“I notched a rod and used it to measure the length of rope to cut.”

A unit of length equal to 1 pole, a perch, 1/4 chain, 5 1/2 yards, 16 1/2 feet, or exactly 5.0292 meters (these being all equivalent).

An implement held vertically and viewed through an optical surveying instrument such as a transit, used to measure distance in land surveying and construction layout; an engineer's rod, surveyor's rod, surveying rod, leveling rod, ranging rod. The modern engineer's or surveyor's rod commonly is eight or ten feet long and often designed to extend higher. In former times a surveyor's rod often was a single wooden pole or composed of multiple sectioned and socketed pieces, and besides serving as a sighting target was used to measure distance on the ground horizontally, hence for convenience was of one rod or pole in length, that is, 5 1/2 yards.

A unit of area equal to a square rod, 30 1/4 square yards or 1/160 acre.

“The house had a small yard of about six rods in size.”

A straight bar that unites moving parts of a machine, for holding parts together as a connecting rod or for transferring power as a drive-shaft.

“The engine threw a rod, and then went to pieces before our eyes, springs and coils shooting in all directions.”

A rod cell: a rod-shaped cell in the eye that is sensitive to light.

“The rods are more sensitive than the cones, but do not discern color.”

Any of a number of long, slender microorganisms.

“He applied a gram positive stain, looking for rods indicative of Listeria.”

A stirring rod: a glass rod, typically about 6 inches to 1 foot long and 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter that can be used to stir liquids in flasks or beakers.

A pistol; a gun.

A penis.

A hot rod, an automobile or other passenger motor vehicle modified to run faster and often with exterior cosmetic alterations, especially one based originally on a pre-1940s model or (currently) denoting any older vehicle thus modified.

A rod-shaped object that appears in photographs or videos traveling at high speed, not seen by the person recording the event, often associated with extraterrestrial entities.

A Cuisenaire rod.

A coupling rod or connecting rod, which links the driving wheels of a steam locomotive.

To reinforce concrete with metal rods.

To furnish with rods, especially lightning rods.

To penetrate sexually.

To hot rod.