1
a
: a thin flat mat or cushion: such as
(1)
: a guard worn to shield body parts against impact
(2)
(3)
: padding used to shape an article of clothing
(4)
: a piece of usually folded absorbent material (such as gauze) used as a surgical dressing or protective covering
(5)
: a component of certain brake systems (such as disc brakes) consisting of a plate covered with a frictional material
(6)
: a piece of soft stuffed material used as or under a saddle
b
: a piece of material saturated with ink for inking the surface of a rubber stamp
2
: a collection of sheets of paper glued or fastened together at one end
3
a
: the cushioned thickening of the underside of the toes of an animal
b
: the foot of an animal
4
a
: living quarters
b
: bed
5
a(1)
: an area used for helicopter takeoffs and landings
(2)
: a section of an airstrip used for warm-ups or turnarounds
b
c
: a horizontal concrete surface (as for parking a mobile home)
6
a
: a floating leaf of a water plant
b
: the flattened, fleshy, paddle-shaped stem segment of a cactus (such as a prickly pear)
padded; padding
2
: to expand or increase especially with needless, misleading, or fraudulent matter
pad the sales figures
—often used with outthey pad out their bibliographies—
J. P. Kenyon
J. P. Kenyon
padded; padding
: to traverse on foot
: to go on foot : walk
especially
: to walk with or as if with padded feet
the dog padded along beside him
padding around in bedroom slippers
: a soft muffled or slapping sound
Synonyms
Noun (1)
Verb (1)
Verb (2)
Examples of pad in a Sentence
Noun (1)
the waitress keeps a pad in the pocket of her apron to write down orders
I went back to my pad to get some rest
a pad on the chair to keep it from getting scratched
welcome to my pad
Verb (1)
the journalist was fired for padding certain stories to make them more interesting
Verb (2)
a cat padded silently by
Recent Examples on the WebRyan McFadden, The Denver Post, 12 May 2024
The advert then shows the press pad lifting up, revealing an iPad in the place of the aforementioned products.
—Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 10 May 2024
The touch-screen number pad was well-illuminated and very responsive, and the fingerprint scanner and NFC key cards worked correctly.
—PCMAG, 10 May 2024
Looking inside the impressive pad, guests are immediately greeted by the grand staircase and chandelier in the entryway.
—Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 8 May 2024
What’s included: Pump, bottle, cushion cover, sealing disc with screw ring, nipple, disposable breast pads.
—Ashley Ziegler, Parents, 8 May 2024
While it's taken Boeing longer than expected to ready their ship for crew flights, all systems appeared go for launch from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:34 p.m. EDT.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 7 May 2024
But, thanks to products like camping pillows and sleeping pads, the experience doesn't have to be totally miserable.
—Emily Belfiore, Travel + Leisure, 2 May 2024
To the aft lies a large sun pad and a bathing area with a ladder to the ocean, while a helm station with a large touchscreen sits forward.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2024
Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 10 May 2024
Blackmon padded that tally with another RBI in the eighth off Littleton native Taylor Rogers — a single that scored Doyle and pushed the tally to 9-1.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 9 May 2024
The incident began after numerous residents complained for weeks about a large number of cats padding through the home in the 1300 block of Sundance Drive in Plumas Lake, an unincorporated community 20 miles north of Sacramento.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 9 May 2024
Black and grey zip-up hoodies, yellow soccer jerseys, and padded slide-on shoes are also included in the collection.
—Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 6 May 2024
This list included Chinese and Russian oil and gas companies, as it could be proven that oil revenues helped pad the coffers of the murderous regime.
—Scott Warren, TIME, 3 May 2024
Her debut is padded with sizzling electric guitars, anxiously sulking bass, and melodies that sprawl like a blown dandelion.
—Margaret Farrell, SPIN, 3 May 2024
Liane drifts through various situations, some of which seem contrived to pad the journey from the assured beginning to the refreshingly different end.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
In fact, the whole front of the bag is padded with a puffer jacket-like casing that not only looks trendy and unique but also helps protect the suitcase from impact.
—Cai Cramer, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
However, a specific vision for his role won’t be crystal clear until the team puts on the pads during training camp.
—Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 12 May 2024
The advert then shows the press pad lifting up, revealing an iPad in the place of the aforementioned products.
—Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 10 May 2024
The touch-screen number pad was well-illuminated and very responsive, and the fingerprint scanner and NFC key cards worked correctly.
—PCMAG, 10 May 2024
Looking inside the impressive pad, guests are immediately greeted by the grand staircase and chandelier in the entryway.
—Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 8 May 2024
What’s included: Pump, bottle, cushion cover, sealing disc with screw ring, nipple, disposable breast pads.
—Ashley Ziegler, Parents, 8 May 2024
While it's taken Boeing longer than expected to ready their ship for crew flights, all systems appeared go for launch from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:34 p.m. EDT.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 7 May 2024
But, thanks to products like camping pillows and sleeping pads, the experience doesn't have to be totally miserable.
—Emily Belfiore, Travel + Leisure, 2 May 2024
To the aft lies a large sun pad and a bathing area with a ladder to the ocean, while a helm station with a large touchscreen sits forward.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2024
Verb
Coming off a mesmerizing Messi performance and Luis Suarez hat trick in a 6-2 rout of the New York Red Bulls, Inter Miami is highly motivated to continue padding its Eastern Conference lead and avenge an early season loss to Montreal, one of just two losses this season.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 10 May 2024
Blackmon padded that tally with another RBI in the eighth off Littleton native Taylor Rogers — a single that scored Doyle and pushed the tally to 9-1.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 9 May 2024
The incident began after numerous residents complained for weeks about a large number of cats padding through the home in the 1300 block of Sundance Drive in Plumas Lake, an unincorporated community 20 miles north of Sacramento.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 9 May 2024
Black and grey zip-up hoodies, yellow soccer jerseys, and padded slide-on shoes are also included in the collection.
—Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 6 May 2024
This list included Chinese and Russian oil and gas companies, as it could be proven that oil revenues helped pad the coffers of the murderous regime.
—Scott Warren, TIME, 3 May 2024
Her debut is padded with sizzling electric guitars, anxiously sulking bass, and melodies that sprawl like a blown dandelion.
—Margaret Farrell, SPIN, 3 May 2024
Liane drifts through various situations, some of which seem contrived to pad the journey from the assured beginning to the refreshingly different end.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
In fact, the whole front of the bag is padded with a puffer jacket-like casing that not only looks trendy and unique but also helps protect the suitcase from impact.
—Cai Cramer, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pad.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to pad
Dictionary Entries Near pad
Cite this Entry
“Pad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pad. Accessed 18 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pad
2 of 4 noun1
a
: a thin flat mat or cushion
b
: a guard worn to shield body parts against impact
c
: a piece of usually folded absorbent material (as gauze)
d
: a piece of material that holds ink for inking a rubber stamp
2
a
: the hairy foot of some mammals (as a fox or hare)
b
: the soft thickening of the underside of the foot or toes of some mammals (as dogs)
3
: a floating leaf of a water plant
4
: a number of sheets of writing paper glued together at one edge
5
6
a
: living quarters : home
pad
3 of 4 verb
padded; padding
1
: to furnish with a pad or padding
2
: to expand with unnecessary or unimportant material
pad a speech
pad
4 of 4 noun
: a soft muffled or slapping sound
Etymology
Verb
probably from early Dutch paden "to follow a path"
Noun
origin unknown
Medical Definition
pad
1 of 2 noun1
a
: a usually square or rectangular piece of often folded typically absorbent material (as gauze) fixed in place over some part of the body as a dressing or other protective covering
b
2
: a part of the body or of an appendage that resembles or is suggestive of a cushion : a thick fleshy resilient part: as
a
: the sole of the foot or underside of the toes of an animal (as a dog) that is typically thickened so as to form a cushion
b
: the underside of the extremities of the fingers
especially
: the ball of the thumb
PAD
2 of 2 abbreviation
peripheral arterial disease
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