paddock

noun

pad·​dock ˈpa-dək 

-dik

1

a

: a usually enclosed area used especially for pasturing or exercising animals

led the sheep into the paddock

especially : an enclosure where racehorses are saddled and paraded before a race

b

Australia and New Zealand : an often enclosed field

2

: an area at an automobile racecourse where racing cars are parked

Examples of paddock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The horses exit one of the 55 barns on the back of the property and are led to a paddock area to parade in front of interested buyers. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026

On the opposite end of the ranch on a sunny October day, the turkeys were calmly milling about their paddock, clucking and chirping, unaware their harvest is imminent. — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 28 Oct. 2026

There's nothing unusual about a celebrity hanging around the paddock. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026

The grassy banks that surround the track are now covered in hospitality structures, including one connected to the paddock building by cable car, complete with not one but two swimming pools. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 26 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

alteration of Middle English parrok, from Old English pearroc, from Medieval Latin parricus

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for paddock

• haddock
• dyadic
• faradic
• monadic
• nomadic
• sporadic
• triadic

Kids Definition

paddock

noun

pad·​dock ˈpad-ək 

-ik

1

: an enclosed area where animals are put to eat grass or to exercise

2

: an enclosed area where racehorses are saddled and paraded before moving to the racetrack