prod

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• transitive verb To jab or poke, as with a pointed object.
• transitive verb To goad to action; incite.
• noun A pointed object used to prod.
• noun An incitement; a stimulus.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To prick or punch with a pointed instrument; goad; poke.
• noun A pointed (often blunt-pointed) weapon or instrument, as a goad or an awl.
• noun A long wooden pin used to secure thatch upon a roof. See the quotation.
• noun A crossbow used for throwing balls of metal or stone. Compare stone-bow.
• noun [⟨ prod, v.] A prick or punch with a pointed or somewhat blunt instrument; a poke.
• noun A pyramidal or conical point which protrudes from the face of a loam-plate or a core-plate for the purpose of holding or retaining the loam.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun A pointed instrument for pricking or puncturing, as a goad, an awl, a skewer, etc.
• noun A prick or stab which a pointed instrument.
• noun A light kind of crossbow; -- in the sense, often spelled prodd.
• transitive verb To thrust some pointed instrument into; to prick with something sharp; ; hence, to goad, to incite, to worry.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb To poke, to push, to touch.
• verb To encourage, to prompt.
• noun A device (often electrical) used to goad livestock into moving.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• verb urge on; cause to act
• verb to push against gently
• noun a pointed instrument that is used to prod into a state of motion
• verb poke or thrust abruptly
• noun a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something