chiefly British, informal
: traditional
… had partaken of the trad British breakfast …Pamela Vandyke Price
Showcasing such trad virtues as live musicianship, brick-solid song structures and stylistic breadth, this is one sweet set.Paul Evans
… ski and surf outfits, not just in the dumb old trad black, either.Bernice Peck

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Expect their typical mix of originals and idiosyncratic takes on trad material. BostonGlobe.com, 10 June 2021 The trad crowd, as well as those that like to test and tinker with different grain-weight heads, will be drawn to this new broadhead. Jace Bauserman, Field & Stream, 9 Jan. 2020 That already sets a competition running for who can be the first to grab a customer’s commitment to investing in this new-yet-trad form of garb. Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2019 The band has a new album of trad English-Irish-Scottish folk songs called The Queen Of Hearts due in July. Dan Deluca, Philly.com, 5 May 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'trad.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of trad was in 1955

Dictionary Entries Near trad

Cite this Entry

“Trad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trad. Accessed 30 May. 2023.

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