paddy

1 of 2

noun (1)

pad·​dy ˈpa-dē 

variants or less commonly padi

plural paddies also padis

1

: rice

especially : threshed unmilled rice

2

: wet land in which rice is grown

Paddy

2 of 2

noun (2)

Pad·​dy ˈpa-dē 

plural Paddies

slang, often disparaging + offensive

: irishman

Examples of paddy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Sometimes the installations are set outdoors in dark rice paddies, as in Izura, Japan, or use strings of live orchids that rise and drop depending on your path, as at the Planets museum. —The New York Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 June 2025

Farmers here have long tended rice paddies but many switched to more lucrative oil palm trees in 2017. —Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Mar. 2025

Today, aside from villages, rice paddies, temples, and a few small tourist resorts, the landscape remains in its natural, dramatic condition—one of the reasons 2017’s Kong: Skull Island was filmed here. —Pat Tompkins, AFAR Media, 9 June 2025

Walk through a mysterious tunnel to a sunset bar overlooking ancient rice paddies. —Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Malay padi

Noun (2)

from Paddy, Hiberno-English nickname for Patrick

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1714, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for paddy

• addy
• caddie
• caddy
• daddy
• gaddi
• laddie
• granddaddy

Kids Definition

paddy

noun

pad·​dy ˈpad-ē 

plural paddies

: wet land in which rice is grown