paddy

noun (1)

pad·dy | \ˈpa-dē

variants: or less commonly padi

plural paddies also padis

Definition of paddy

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : rice especially : threshed unmilled rice

2 : wet land in which rice is grown

Paddy

noun (2)

Pad·dy | \ˈpa-dē

plural Paddies

Definition of Paddy (Entry 2 of 2)

slang, often disparaging + offensive

: irishman

Examples of paddy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

My mother, blocked from going to college, worked on rice paddies and cotton fields—part of a Stalinist experiment in food self-sustainability. — András Szántó, Condé Nast Traveler, "Why Budapest Is Europe's Unlikely Capital of Hedonism," 29 Aug. 2018 Bell depicts men outfitted with LMS flying anywhere from 20 to 100 feet above the ground, enough to show the ground below (and in one case, enemies wearing rice paddy hats). — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "U.S. Troops Could Have Fought the Vietnam War With Jetpacks," 1 Aug. 2018 The final days of the tour are spent on the magical island of Bali, noted for its terraced, bright green rice paddies. — Phil Marty, chicagotribune.com, "A wild look at Indonesia, a lauded hotel at a winning price and more," 2 July 2018 But military hardware aside, the base could be a suburban slice of Anytown U.S.A., laid over Pyeoungtaek’s rice paddies. — Time, "Inside Camp Humphreys, South Korea: America's Largest Overseas Military Base," 13 July 2018 The inspiration for the shoes is Korea’s paddy fields, according to the website. — Rene Wisely, Detroit Free Press, "Kybun Joya Shoes, sports collectibles, sushi, whiskey fill downtowns," 9 July 2018 In Nara, rescuers were searching for a man in his 60s who hasn’t returned after going to check his rice paddies, while in Kochi, a 40-year-old man in his car was seen washed away. — Washington Post, "At least 3 dead, several missing in Japan heavy rain, floods," 6 July 2018 As detailed in a previous column, Hart was abandoned in a Vietnamese rice paddy as a newborn, covered in scabies and boils, before being rescued by a nun and adopted by American parents. — Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, "Businesses must help make streets cleaner and safer, chamber leader says," 10 May 2018 The outskirts of the southern resort city of Sanya is home to China’s largest submarine base, while other naval and naval air stations are scattered across its 34,000 square kilometers (13,100 square miles) of mountains, jungle and rice paddies. — Washington Post, "Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea," 23 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'paddy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.