rod

1. (fishing) A long slender usually tapering pole used for angling; fishing rod.Examples: "When I hooked a snake and not a fish, I got so scared I dropped my rod in the water."

2. (archaic) 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).Examples: "‘And this thicket, so full of a natural art, was in the immediate vicinity, within a few rods, of the dwelling of Madame Deluc, whose boys were in the habit of closely examining the shrubberies about them in search of the bark of the sassafras.’"; "In one of the villages I saw the next summer a cow tethered by a rope six rods long[…]."; "A few rods farther led him past the old black Presbyterian church, with its square tower, embowered in a stately grove; past the Catholic church, with its many crosses, and a painted wooden figure of St. James in a recess beneath the gable; and past the old Jefferson House, once the leading hotel of the town, in front of which political meetings had been held, and political speeches made, and political hard cider drunk, in the days of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too.""archaic

3. (archaic) A unit of area equal to a square rod, 30+¹⁄₄ square yards or ¹⁄₁₆₀ acre.Examples: "The house had a small yard of about six rods in size."archaic

4. (anatomy) A rod cell: a rod-shaped cell in the eye that is sensitive to light.Examples: "The rods are more sensitive than the cones, but do not discern color."

5. (biology) Any of a number of long, slender microorganisms.Examples: "He applied a gram positive stain, looking for rods indicative of Listeria."

6. (chemistry) 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.