wad

noun

\ ˈwäd

Definition of wad

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a small mass, bundle, or tuft: such as

a : a soft mass especially of a loose fibrous material variously used (as to stop an aperture, pad a garment, or hold grease around an axle)

b(1) : a soft plug used to retain a powder charge or to avoid windage especially in a muzzle-loading gun

(2) : a felt or paper disk used to separate the components of a shotgun cartridge

c : a small mass of a chewing substance a wad of gum

2 : a considerable amount (as of money)

3a : a roll of paper money

b : money

wad

verb

wadded; wadding

Definition of wad (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to insert a wad into wad a gun

b : to hold in by a wad wad a bullet in a gun

2 : to form into a wad or wadding especially : to roll or crush into a tight wad

3 : to stuff or line with some soft substance

Other Words from wad Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about wad

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of wad in a Sentence

Noun He spent a wad on clothes. a starlet who usually gets a big wad of publicity for her nonstop antics Verb disgusted, she wadded up the paper and threw it in the wastebasket

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun To ensure that an embryo—a wad of unfamiliar tissue—will be tolerated, parts of a pregnant person’s immune system must remain muzzled for months, then rebound after the baby is born. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, "New Parents Are Now Vaccinating for Two," 31 Mar. 2021 Monday was a fun day for Patriots fans as the team spent a wad of cash and brought new faces to Foxborough. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, "Patriots didn’t win enough in 2020, so in free agency, they’re buying a new team," 15 Mar. 2021 The buyer gave the man a wad of cash that contained two $20 bills, one $10 bill, and inside four $50 bills. — cleveland, "Counterfeit bills used in Marketplace transaction: Rocky River Police Blotter," 12 Mar. 2021 Crammed inside a bathroom stall with a female corrections officer in the Augusta Correctional Center in Craigsville, Va., Joyce Flores handed the guard a wad of toilet paper stained with her menstrual blood. — Washington Post, "Virginia prison guards accused a staffer of smuggling contraband, so she was fired. It was a tampon, she says.," 25 Feb. 2021 Clean the barrel thoroughly to remove plastic wad buildup. — Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, "How to Disassemble and Clean a Semi-Auto Shotgun," 4 Jan. 2021 Tasks included opening the window panes of a house made of Lego bricks; opening the lid of a Petri dish; and yanking out a wad of paper jammed inside a clear plastic tube. — The Economist, "Mice Where a rodent lives may determine how clever it is," 23 Jan. 2021 The bird’s crop was filled with a softball-sized wad of hoppers. — Gerry Bethge, Outdoor Life, "How to Hunt a Wild Turkey for Your Thanksgiving," 24 Nov. 2020 Mason printed the 60 pages of the map and sold it to Mostly Harmless for $5 cash, which the hiker pulled from a wad of bills that Mason remembers being an inch thick. — Nicholas Thompson, Wired, "A Nameless Hiker and the Case the Internet Can’t Crack," 2 Nov. 2020

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