/spud/ , n. , v. , spudded, spudding .
n.
1. Informal. a potato.
2. a spadelike instrument, esp. one with a narrow blade, as for digging up or cutting the roots of weeds.
3. a chisellike tool for removing bark.
4. a pointed leg or stake for staying or supporting dredging or earth-boring machinery.
5. a short pipe, as for connecting a water pipe with a meter.
6. Surg. an instrument having a dull flattened blade for removing substances or foreign bodies from certain parts of the body, as wax from the ear.
v.t.
7. to remove with a spud.
8. spud in , to set up earth-boring equipment, esp. for drilling an oil well.
[ 1400-50; late ME spudde short knife ]