From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnodnod1 /nɒd $ nɑːd/ ●●○ W2 verb (nodded, nodding) [intransitive, transitive] 1 YESto move your head up and down, especially in order to show agreement or understanding → shake I asked her if she was ready to go, and she nodded. Mom nodded her head sympathetically.nod your approval/agreement etc (=show your approval etc by nodding) Corbett nodded his acceptance.2 SIGN/GESTUREto move your head down and up again once in order to greet someone or give someone a sign to do somethingnod at The judge nodded at the foreman to proceed.nod to She nodded to us as she walked by.3 → have a nodding acquaintance (with something)4 → have a nodding acquaintance (with somebody) → nod off→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
nod• I asked her if she was OK, and she nodded.• The experts nod across the seminar table.• Everything seemed so strange and silvery in the starlight and every so often my head would nod and I'd stumble and start.• I nodded and the old woman took my hand.• Slowly Penny nodded and then silently cast her eyes down to her plate.• The way to deal with him at such moments was to nod approvingly and pray such ideas would be forgotten.• The guy nodded as if still trying to make sense of the story.• Gina lay beside him; she had nodded off and was snoring loudly.• In 63 minutes Burrows floated over a free and Hunter was there to nod the ball home at the near post.nodded ... head• He smiled at me and nodded his head.• Hannah nodded her head again, a faint smile creeping across her face.• He simply nodded his head and made some neutral comment.• I nodded my head at Connie, knowing I had heard wisdom, not yet ready to learn it.• Nick and Linda nodded their heads, Nick morosely, Linda obviously quite excited at this new turn of events.• She nodded her head slowly, as if she went along with his refusal to let her read it.• Although the audience nodded their heads through all this, it wasn't really what they had come to see.• She nodded her head to let him know that he should answer her by nodding his head if words failed him.nodnod2 ●●○ noun 1 [countable]SIGN/GESTURE an act of nodding The woman greeted us with a nod of the head. I showed the doorman my card and he gave a friendly nod.2 → give somebody the nod/get the nod from somebody3 → on the nod4 → a nod’s as good as a wink → the land of nod at land1(9)Examples from the Corpus
nod• There is no doubt that this could be done by a nod.• I asked if he was hungry, and he responded with a nod.• Then the silent man simply walked out of the room, with a nod and a smile.• The nearest guard glanced at it, then ushered him through with a curt nod of his head.• Daniels gave a slight nod, and Bill started to speak.• He looked at Lee from an angle, cool and fixed, with a slow nod of the head to measure remarks.• Thompson discounted the possibility that Dole would give him the nod.gave ... nod• Lorton, who had been watching anxiously, gave him a nod of approval.• Sally Baker gave a complimentary nod as Tess reappeared from upstairs.• They barely gave me a nod when I poked my head up over the side of the truck.• Then he gave a nod that included all the young ladies before he turned away.• He gave a nod and checked her over.• A younger woman with outsize spectacles behind them periodically gave a slight nod of her head.• Stephen gave an absent-minded nod and hurried off to solve the next problem.Origin nod1 (1300-1400) Perhaps from Low German 