cattle prod
noun
: a handheld prodding device that delivers an electric shock (as in controlling cattle)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Law enforcement officials said Bates injured his leg and was unable to work, so he was allegedly tied up, kicked, beaten, starved and shocked with an electric cattle prod until his death, according to a 1986 Houston Chronicle article. 
Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, 8 Apr. 2022 The cattle prod released up to 4,000 volts of electricity, according to an article by the online publication Ranker. Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, 8 Apr. 2022 Military personnel forced him to stand in a patio of water and shocked him with a cattle prod. Lola Méndez, refinery29.com, 23 Sep. 2021 The young person/cattle prod who got Jackson moving toward new music — even writing new songs — was Wanda’s granddaughter and new manager, Jordan Simpson. A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 22 Aug. 2021 They were armed with flags, steel pipes, table legs, chemical weapons, guns — even a cattle prod. Brian Slodysko, ajc, 28 July 2021 And although the red button within the flip-open gear shifter is present, there isn't an ejector seat on the passenger side, not even an under-seat cattle prod. Mike Duff, Car and Driver, 11 Sep. 2020 Many times, the tactics, including near-suffocation by plastic bags, shocks by cattle prods and beatings by flashlights, were used to elicit false confessions. NBC News, 3 June 2020 There are certainly occasions when complex verbiage is called for, but in general, writers are encouraged — through gentle, collegial encouragement, and the occasional cattle prod — to make their points clearly and simply. New York Times, 1 Apr. 2020 See More
Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, 8 Apr. 2022 The cattle prod released up to 4,000 volts of electricity, according to an article by the online publication Ranker. Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, 8 Apr. 2022 Military personnel forced him to stand in a patio of water and shocked him with a cattle prod. Lola Méndez, refinery29.com, 23 Sep. 2021 The young person/cattle prod who got Jackson moving toward new music — even writing new songs — was Wanda’s granddaughter and new manager, Jordan Simpson. A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 22 Aug. 2021 They were armed with flags, steel pipes, table legs, chemical weapons, guns — even a cattle prod. Brian Slodysko, ajc, 28 July 2021 And although the red button within the flip-open gear shifter is present, there isn't an ejector seat on the passenger side, not even an under-seat cattle prod. Mike Duff, Car and Driver, 11 Sep. 2020 Many times, the tactics, including near-suffocation by plastic bags, shocks by cattle prods and beatings by flashlights, were used to elicit false confessions. NBC News, 3 June 2020 There are certainly occasions when complex verbiage is called for, but in general, writers are encouraged — through gentle, collegial encouragement, and the occasional cattle prod — to make their points clearly and simply. New York Times, 1 Apr. 2020 See More Word History
First Known Use
1938, in the meaning defined above