What does "cad" mean?
Acronym of computer-aided design.
Cad
/kæd/ noun, slang
noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Acronym of computer-aided design.
- Grammar: cad is listed as noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bounder, adventurer, arriviste, asshole.
- Useful contrasts: gallant, gent, gentleman.
- Usage evidence: "Virginia, a wife shouldn't keep secrets from her husband." "Oh? But you are keeping secrets from me, are you not? Or did you think I didn't know about you and Mary?" "But Virginia!" "No buts! Leave my house this instant and pester Mary with your male chauvinism, you cad!"
How to use "cad"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cad" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cad" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cad" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cad" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cad" is acting as noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bounder" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cad", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Acronym of computer-aided design. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
"I'll wager a Dogic that before TwistyPuzzles.com turns 10 we'll be posting 3D CAD files that we can individually upload to FedExKinkos.com to have fabricated and have the resulting puzzle overnighted to us by 8am the next day."
- 2 A low-bred, presuming person; a mean, vulgar fellow, especially one that cannot be trusted with a lady.
"The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite.[…]Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?"
- 3 software used in art and architecture and engineering and manufacturing to assist in precision drawing wordnet
- 4 Initialism of computer-aided drafting. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 5 A person who stands at the door of an omnibus to open and shut it, and to receive fares; a bus conductor. archaic
"We will back the machine in which we make our daily peregrination from the top of Oxford-street to the city, against any buss on the road, whether it be for the gaudiness of its exterior, the perfect simplicity of its interior, or the native coolness of its cad."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 someone who is morally reprehensible wordnet
- 7 Initialism of control alt delete. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 8 An idle hanger-on about innyards. Ireland, UK, obsolete, slang
- 9 Initialism of cash against documents, an arrangement where the purchaser must pay the total price in cash in order to get shipping papers from the seller or (usually) a third party. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 10 Initialism of coronary artery disease. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 11 Initialism of computer-aided diagnosis. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
"2017, Sunjoo Bang et al, "Quad-phased data mining modeling for dementia diagnosis" in BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 17(Supp1):60, at Abstract>Background. Therefore, there are various researches to improve a dementia diagnosis process in the field of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) technology."
- 12 Initialism of cold agglutinin disease. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 13 Initialism of computer-aided dispatch. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 14 Initialism of caspase-activated DNase. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
Example
""Virginia, a wife shouldn't keep secrets from her husband." "Oh? But you are keeping secrets from me, are you not? Or did you think I didn't know about you and Mary?" "But Virginia!" "No buts! Leave my house this instant and pester Mary with your male chauvinism, you cad!""
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cad"?
Common synonyms include: bounder, adventurer, arriviste, asshole, assholes, babbitt.
How do you use "cad" in a sentence?
"Virginia, a wife shouldn't keep secrets from her husband." "Oh? But you are keeping secrets from me, are you not? Or did you think I didn't know about you and Mary?" "But Virginia!" "No buts! Leave my house this instant and pester Mary with your male chauvinism, you cad!"
How do you pronounce "cad"?
Pronounced /kæd/.
Etymology
Short for caddie, from Scots, from French cadet, from dialectal capdet (“chief, captain”), from Latin capitellum, diminutive of caput (“head”).