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Glite Dictionary
🥔 A potato ⛽ To start drilling 🛠️ A digging tool
to spud

to spud

2 9.8
To start drilling a well for oil or gas
  • verb
  • /spʌd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : perforar
  • They are planning to spud four new gas wells by the end of the year.
  • spud a well

Examples

  • The drilling team will spud the next well as soon as the equipment arrives on site.

  • Now, before we spud in Mary's Well Number One, named for the lovely Miss Mary Sunday, here by my side, a proud daughter of these hills, I'd just like to say God bless these honest labors of ours, and, of course, God bless you all.

    There Will Be Blood (2007)

  • The company is excited to spud its first oil well in the region next month.

Compounds

spud head
  • Offensive
1 9.8

An insulting name for a person who is foolish or lazy

baked spud
  • Informal
3.0

A whole baked potato served with toppings like cheese or beans

stump spud
  • Specialized
9.9

A small sharp hand shovel with a pointed blade for digging out roots and weeds

Surface Forms

spud infinitive
spudded past
spudded past participle
spudding present participle
spuds third person singular

Etymology

The verb spud (to start drilling) probably comes from the same idea of making the first hole with a small digging tool called a spud, so oil workers say they 'spud' a well when they begin drilling.