Pad

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pæd/
• Rhymes: -æd

1554, "bundle of straw to lie on", Unknown, from Middle Low German or Dutch pad ("sole of the foot").

Full definition of pad

Noun

1. A flattened mass of anything soft, to sit or lie on.
2. A cushion used as a saddle without a tree or frame.
3. A soft, or small, cushion.
4. A cushion-like thickening of the skin on the under side of the toes of animals.
5. The mostly hairless flesh located on the bottom of an animal's foot or paw.
6. Any cushion-like part of the human body, especially the ends of the fingers.
7. A stuffed guard or protection, especially one worn on the legs of horses to prevent bruising.
8. A soft bag or cushion to relieve pressure, support a part, etc.
9. A sanitary napkin.
10. (US) A floating leaf of a water lily or similar plant.
11. (cricket) A soft cover for a batsman's leg that protects it from damage when hit by the ball.
12. A kind of cushion for writing upon, or for blotting, especially one formed of many flat sheets of writing paper; now especially such a block of paper sheets as used to write on.
13. A panel or strip of material designed to be sensitive to pressure or touch.
14. A keypad.
15. A flat surface or area from which a helicopter or other aircraft may land or be launched.
16. An electrical extension cord with a multi-port socket one end: "trip cord"
17. The effect produced by sustained lower reed notes in a musical piece, most common in blues music.
18. A synthesizer instrument sound used for sustained background sounds.
19. (US, slang) A bed.
20. (colloquial) A place of residence.
21. (cryptography) A random key (originally written on a disposable pad) of the same length as the plaintext.
22. A mousepad.
23. (nautical) A piece of timber fixed on a beam to fit the curve of the deck.

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive) To stuff.
2. (transitive) To furnish with a pad or padding.
3. (transitive) To fill or lengthen (a story, one's importance, etc.).The author began to pad her succinct stories with trite descriptions to keep up with current market trends."Obama pads delegate lead ... with win in key western state." Austin American-Statesman newspaper, May 21, 2008.
4. (transitive) To imbue uniformly with a mordant.to pad cloth
5. (transitive, cricket) to deliberately play the ball with the leg pad instead of the bat.

Derived terms

• well-padded

Unknown; probably existed (though unattested) in Old English. Possibly cognate with Dutch pad, dialectal German Padde, Swedish padda, Danish padde, and possibly ancestor to the pad-like English paddle.

Noun

1. (British, dialectal) A toad.

From Dutch #Dutch ("pad") or Middle Low German pat ("path").

Noun

1. (British, dialectal, Australia, Ireland) A footpath, particularly one unformed or unmaintained; a road or track. See footpad.
2. An easy-paced horse; a padnag.
• Tennysonan abbot on an ambling pad
3. (British, obsolete) A robber that infests the road on foot; a highwayman or footpad.
4. The act of highway robbery.

Unknown an alteration of ped.

Noun

1. (British, dialectal) A type of wickerwork basket, especially as used as a measure of fish or other goods.

Unknown partly from Middle Low German, partly imitative.

Verb

1. (transitive) To travel along (a road, path etc.).
• SomervillePadding the streets for half a crown.
2. (intransitive) To travel on foot.
3. (intransitive) To wear a path by walking.
4. (intransitive) To walk softly, quietly or steadily, especially without shoes.
• 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen RabbitTheir feet padded softly on the ground, and they crept quite close to him, twitching their noses, while the Rabbit stared hard to see which side the clockwork stuck out...
5. (intransitive, obsolete) To practise highway robbery.

Unknown

Interjection

1. Indicating a soft flat sound, as of bare footsteps.I heard her soft footsteps, pad, pad along the corridor.

Noun

1. The sound of soft footsteps, or a similar noise made by an animal etc.

Anagrams

• ADP
• dap
• DPA
• PDA