Definition of "goad"

goad

/ɡəʊd/

noun
plural goads
1. A long, pointed stick used to prod animals.
  Quotations
  the daily goad urging him to the daily toil
  1856 December, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Samuel Johnson ”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871
2. (figurative) That which goads or incites; a stimulus.
verb
third-person singular simple present goads, present participle goading, simple past and past participle goaded
1. To prod with a goad.
2. To encourage or stimulate.
3. To incite or provoke.