clad

1 of 5

past tense and past participle of clothe

clad

2 of 5

adjective

ˈklad 

1

: being covered or clothed

ivy-clad buildings

clad in red silk pajamas

2

of a coin : consisting of outer layers of one metal bonded to a core of a different metal

half-dollar clad coins

clad

3 of 5

verb

clad or cladded; cladding

transitive verb

: sheathe, face

specifically : to cover (a metal) with another metal by bonding

stainless steel plates were clad with copper

clad

4 of 5

noun

1

a

: a composite material formed by cladding

b

: a clad coin

2

: cladding

specifically : the outer layer of a clad coin

clad-

5 of 5

combining form

variants or clado-

: slip : sprout

cladophyll

Synonyms of clad

Verb

• clothe
• sheathe
• encase
• dress

Examples of clad in a Sentence

Verb

if the vehicles are not clad in armor, they will remain vulnerable to roadside bombs

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Under the guard of balaclava-wearing clad police, prosecutors unveiled the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet during a news conference in the eastern Dutch city of Assen. —ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026

The loudest moment of the night came at the 12-minute mark when Purdue’s bench and its huge contingent of yellow and black clad fans erupted as senior point guard Braden Smith made history with his 1,077th career assist, breaking the 33-year-old NCAA record set in 1993 by Duke’s Bobby Hurley. —Charlotte Observer, 21 Mar. 2026

Verb

The cedar wood’s grains are enhanced with an overlapping cladding style build, and the shingled roof adds a storybook cottage feel. —Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 14 Mar. 2026

Today it can be seen cladding a Qantas 787 Dreamliner in giant red webs and white spots. —Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 2 Feb. 2026

Noun

Since 1965, the dime hasn't had any silver in it and is instead a copper-nickel clad. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 14 Mar. 2026

Despite being raised in Missouri City, Chase B’s east coast bonafides are iron-clad. —Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 26 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, past participle of clothen "to clothe"

Verb

probably from clad entry 2, taken as an uninflected verb rather than an inflected form of clothe

Noun

derivative of clad entry 3

Combining form

combining form from Greek kládos "branch, sprig, frond," perhaps going back to Indo-European *kl̥dos "piece of wood" — more at holt

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1939, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1941, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for clad

• ad
• add
• bad
• brad
• cad
• dad
• fad
• gad
• glad
• grad
• had
• lad

Kids Definition

clad

1 of 2

past and past participle of clothe

clad

2 of 2 adjective

ˈklad 

: being covered : wearing clothes