hod

IPA/hɒd/
IPA/hɑːd/

hod — noun

  • hodsingular
  • hodsplural

1. a builder's long open tray, fitted with a handle, for moving bricks or wet morta

1.nounC2
Definition

a builder's long open tray, fitted with a handle, for moving bricks or wet mortar on one shoulder.

Example

The bricklayer balanced a hod on his shoulder before climbing the ladder.

carry a hod on the shoulder

Nia filled the hod with bricks beside the half-built garden wall.

fill a hod with bricks

Common collocations
  • carry a hod
  • fill a hod
  • a hod of bricks
  • a hod of mortar
  • shoulder a hod
Synonyms
  • tray

    a much broader word for an open container; it does not suggest building work or shoulder-carrying

  • trough

    highlights the long open shape, but not the pole or the builder's shoulder

  • carrier

    very general word for something used to move a load, with far less shape detail

Grammar Patterns

carry a hod

fill a hod with bricks

a hod of mortar

Usage Note

Mostly seen in traditional or manual building work. A hod is carried on the shoulder, unlike a bucket or wheelbarrow, which is held or pushed in other ways.

Common Mistakes

The painter carried the paint in a hod.
The painter carried the paint in a bucket.
a hod is mainly for bricks, mortar, or similar building material, not for ordinary liquids.
The worker pushed the hod across the site.
The worker pushed the wheelbarrow across the site.' OR 'The worker carried the hod on his shoulder.
a hod is meant to be carried on the shoulder, not pushed along the ground.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Hod, tray, basket, and wheelbarrow can all carry things, but they do different jobs. A hod is a long open container fixed to a pole and carried on one shoulder, especially by a builder moving bricks or wet mortar up ladders or across a site. A tray is much broader and is often carried by hand for food, tools, or papers. A basket is deeper and lighter, commonly used for shopping or produce. A wheelbarrow is for heavier loads on the ground and is pushed, not carried on the shoulder. If a worker is climbing with bricks, hod is the precise word; if the load rolls across the yard, wheelbarrow is the better choice.

hod ↗tray ↗basket ↗wheelbarrow ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • brick hod
  • empty hod
  • wooden hod

Verbs

  • carry a hod
  • fill a hod
  • shoulder a hod

Phrases

  • a hod of bricks
  • a hod of mortar

Prepositions

  • hod on the shoulder

Etymology

English

The origin of hod is uncertain, but English has used the word for centuries for a builder's shoulder-carried container. Over time, the meaning settled on the long open box or tray fixed to a pole and used for carrying bricks or mortar. Today the word is mostly heard in building contexts or in historical descriptions of manual construction work.

First known use

1573

1573, in the meaning defined at sense 1