Definition of "spud" [spud]

• Slang A potato. (noun)
• A sharp spadelike tool used for rooting or digging out weeds. (noun)
• A short section of pipe or a threaded fitting that completes a connection, as between a longer pipe and a nozzle, valve, or meter. (noun)
• To remove with a sharp spadelike tool. (verb-transitive)
• To begin drilling operations on: spud an oil well. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The island way of life, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and even "" Bud the spud from the bright red mud "" all evoke vibrant images of the island."
• "As reported earlier, the Company has engineered the next offset location near the NOJ26 and will be announcing a near term spud date sometime in January."
• "Most collimators use an expanding or caliber-specific arbor -- I've also heard it called a spud -- that fits snuggly into the bore and onto which the collimator is affixed."