pad

1 of 5

noun (1)

1
a
: a thin flat mat or cushion: such as
(1)
: a guard worn to shield body parts against impact
(3)
: padding used to shape an article of clothing
(4)
: a piece of usually folded absorbent material (such as gauze) used as a surgical dressing or protective covering
(5)
: a component of certain brake systems (such as disc brakes) consisting of a plate covered with a frictional material
(6)
: a piece of soft stuffed material used as or under a saddle
b
: a piece of material saturated with ink for inking the surface of a rubber stamp
2
: a collection of sheets of paper glued or fastened together at one end
3
a
: the cushioned thickening of the underside of the toes of an animal
b
: the foot of an animal
4
a
: living quarters
b
: bed
5
a(1)
: an area used for helicopter takeoffs and landings
(2)
: a section of an airstrip used for warm-ups or turnarounds
b
c
: a horizontal concrete surface (as for parking a mobile home)
6
a
: a floating leaf of a water plant
b
: the flattened, fleshy, paddle-shaped stem segment of a cactus (such as a prickly pear)

pad

2 of 5

verb (1)

padded; padding

transitive verb

1
a
: to furnish with a pad or padding
b
2
: to expand or increase especially with needless, misleading, or fraudulent matter
pad the sales figures
often used with out
they pad out their bibliographiesJ. P. Kenyon

pad

3 of 5

verb (2)

padded; padding

transitive verb

: to traverse on foot

intransitive verb

: to go on foot : walk
especially : to walk with or as if with padded feet
the dog padded along beside him
padding around in bedroom slippers

pad

4 of 5

noun (2)

: a soft muffled or slapping sound

pad

5 of 5

noun (3)

1
dialectal British : path
2
: a horse that moves along at an easy pace
3
archaic : footpad

Examples of pad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The historic residence is asking just shy of $25 million, which is $5 million less than the pad was listed for last year. Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 14 Mar. 2024 SpaceX engineers modified multiple systems in the wake of the failures, including work to beef up the rocket's self-destruct system, to improve engine performance and to protect the pad with a high-power water deluge system that also deadens the acoustic shock of engine ignition. William Harwood, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024 Previous flights: Starship’s first test was hailed as a success, though the landing pad was damaged after the ship exploded. Christian Davenport, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 The cleaning solution refill bottles pop right in and the reusable pad can be thrown in the washing machine when dirty. Ella Field, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Mar. 2024 Activation comes by pressing the central button of the left-hand pad on the steering wheel. Mark Andrews, WIRED, 13 Mar. 2024 On the ground, a 1-inch ballast pad fits into a standard 9-feet-by-8-feet parking space. Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2024 There’s wireless phone charging as standard in UK models, although the pad for this is somewhat hidden in front under the dashboard. James Morris, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 Trending When the first batch of lyric pads appeared on Kosinski’s Gotta Have Rock and Roll memorabilia site in 2012, the Eagles were on tour. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2024
Verb
Too many corporations raise their prices to pad their profits charging you more and more for less and less. USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2024 The second clearly informed Mr. Biden’s new favorite economic argument — that companies have used a rapid run-up in prices to pad their pockets by keeping those prices high while giving consumers less. Jim Tankersley, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024 Credit card companies are hiking rates to record highs to pad their profits, according to a government report released Thursday. J.j. McCorvey, NBC News, 22 Feb. 2024 In addition to the various pockets and compartments, the laptop sleeve is padded to keep it safe and sound on your commute. Erika Reals, Peoplemag, 21 Feb. 2024 Moments like Remake’s Wall Market section, which once represented 20 minutes to an hour’s worth of gameplay, spiraled out into hourslong slogs that unnecessarily padded relatively inconsequential sections of the game. Ash Parrish, The Verge, 29 Feb. 2024 Lucie and Luke Meier did at Jil Sander — all the way round the bend, in fact, cutting everything on an exaggerated curve so suits and coats and dresses resembled sci-fi bed jackets, often in cartoon colors and often quilted or padded. Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2024 On Christmas Eve, children pad around villages or up and down the stairwells of apartment blocks, singing carols and receiving small gifts from those who listened, a tradition carried out now on Dec. 24 instead of Jan. 6. Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2023 The Victorian-style bodice of the royal’s gown was also padded at the hips and narrowed at the waist, a signature design element of McQueen. Nicole Briese, Peoplemag, 23 Dec. 2023

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

origin unknown

Verb (2)

perhaps from Middle Dutch paden to follow a path, from pad path

Noun (2)

imitative

Noun (3)

Middle Dutch pad

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1554, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (2)

1553, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

1879, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1567, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pad was in 1553

Dictionary Entries Near pad

Cite this Entry

“Pad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pad. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pad

1 of 4 verb
padded; padding
1
: to go on foot
2
: to move along with a muffled step

pad

2 of 4 noun
1
a
: a thin flat mat or cushion
b
: a guard worn to shield body parts against impact
c
: a piece of usually folded absorbent material (as gauze)
d
: a piece of material that holds ink for inking a rubber stamp
2
a
: the hairy foot of some mammals (as a fox or hare)
b
: the soft thickening of the underside of the foot or toes of some mammals (as dogs)
3
: a floating leaf of a water plant
4
: a number of sheets of writing paper glued together at one edge
5
6
a
: living quarters : home

pad

3 of 4 verb
padded; padding
1
: to furnish with a pad or padding
2
: to expand with unnecessary or unimportant material
pad a speech

pad

4 of 4 noun
: a soft muffled or slapping sound
Etymology

Verb

probably from early Dutch paden "to follow a path"

Noun

origin unknown

Medical Definition

pad

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: a usually square or rectangular piece of often folded typically absorbent material (as gauze) fixed in place over some part of the body as a dressing or other protective covering
2
: a part of the body or of an appendage that resembles or is suggestive of a cushion : a thick fleshy resilient part: as
a
: the sole of the foot or underside of the toes of an animal (as a dog) that is typically thickened so as to form a cushion
b
: the underside of the extremities of the fingers
especially : the ball of the thumb

PAD

2 of 2 abbreviation
peripheral arterial disease

More from Merriam-Webster on pad

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