pad

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈpad 

plural pads

1

a

: a thin flat mat or cushion: such as

(1)

: a guard worn to shield body parts against impact

(2)

: sanitary napkin, menstrual pad

(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

: launchpad sense 1

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)

pad

2 of 5

verb (1)

padded; padding

transitive verb

1

a

: to furnish with a pad or padding

b

: mute, muffle

2

: to expand or increase especially with needless, misleading, or fraudulent matter

pad the sales figures

—often used with out

They pad out their bibliographies …

—J. P. Kenyon

pad

3 of 5

verb (2)

padded; padding

transitive verb

: to traverse on foot

intransitive verb

: 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

pad

4 of 5

noun (2)

: a soft muffled or slapping sound

pad

5 of 5

noun (3)

1

dialectal British : path

2

: a horse that moves along at an easy pace

3

archaic : footpad

Synonyms of pad

Noun (1)

• notebook
• tablet

Verb (1)

• exaggerate
• color
• enhance
• embellish
• expand

Verb (2)

• walk
• tread
• step

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 Web

Noun

The first week of spring practice has come and gone for coach Tim Albin and the Charlotte 49ers, who put on pads for the first time Saturday morning. —Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 30 Mar. 2026

Sleeping bags were permitted, but not pillows or pads. —Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026

Verb

Silent Way continues in this tack while finding room for more reflective work to pad between the highs. —Maxie Younger, Pitchfork, 27 Mar. 2026

Adapted by Nesbo from his fifth Harry Hole mystery (The Snowman was the seventh), Detective Hole is padded by several episodes, and the finale arrives at a conclusion that is somewhere between illogical and wholly ludicrous. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 25 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

origin unknown

Verb (2)

perhaps from Middle Dutch paden to follow a path, from pad path

Noun (2)

imitative

Noun (3)

Middle Dutch pad

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1554, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (2)

1553, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

1879, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1567, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing pad

• bachelor pad
• brake pad
• crash pad
• game pad
• heating pad
• ink pad
• launching pad
• launch pad
• legal pad
• lily pad
• mattress pad
• menstrual pad
• mouse pad
• pad thai
• sanitary pad
• scratch pad
• shoulder pad
• sketch pad
• splash pad
• steno pad
• touch pad

Rhymes for pad

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

Kids Definition

pad

1 of 4 verb

ˈpad 

padded; padding

1

: to go on foot

2

: to move along with a muffled step

pad

2 of 4 noun

1

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

: launchpad

6

a

: living quarters : home

b

: bed entry 1 sense 1a

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 noun

ˈpad 

1

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

: sanitary pad

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