Pad

/pæd/ intj, noun, verb, slang

intj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A flattened mass of anything soft, to sit or lie on.
  • Grammar: pad is listed as intj, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: abate, abiding place, abode, account book.
  • Useful contrasts: galling, ungual, burrow marks.
  • Usage evidence: The rockets were fired from a launching pad.

How to use "pad"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pad" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. 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 "pad" 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 "pad" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pad" 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 "pad" is acting as intj, noun, verb, 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 "abate" 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 "pad", 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. 1
    A flattened mass of anything soft, to sit or lie on.
  2. 2
    A toad. British, dialectal
  3. 3
    A path, particularly one unformed or unmaintained; a track made by animals. Australia, British, Ireland, dialectal

    "And when the map shows that the creek will no longer take him where he wants to go, then he looks for an animal pad and follows it, getting down on his belly and wriggling under thorny bush when he has to."

  4. 4
    A type of wickerwork basket, especially as used as a measure of fish or other goods. British, dialectal
  5. 5
    The sound of soft footsteps, or a similar noise made by an animal etc.
Show 36 more definitions
  1. 6
    Initialism of peripheral artery disease. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
  2. 7
    the fleshy cushion-like underside of an animal's foot or of a human's finger wordnet
  3. 8
    A cushion used as a saddle without a tree or frame.
  4. 9
    An easy-paced horse; a padnag.

    "Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, / An abbot on an ambling pad, / Sometimes a curly shepherd lad, / Or long-hair'd page, in crimson clad, / Goes by to Camelot."

  5. 10
    temporary living quarters wordnet
  6. 11
    A soft, or small, cushion.
  7. 12
    A robber who infests the road on foot; a highwayman or footpad. British, obsolete

    "A Pad came pacing down the way : / The Cur, with never-ceasing tongue , / Upon the passing trav'ler sprung"

  8. 13
    a platform from which rockets or space craft are launched wordnet
  9. 14
    A soft area on the ends of a digit:; A cushion-like thickening of the skin on the underside of the toes of animals.
  10. 15
    A tramp or itinerant musician. British, obsolete
  11. 16
    a flat mass of soft material used for protection, stuffing, or comfort wordnet
  12. 17
    A soft area on the ends of a digit:; The mostly hairless flesh located on the bottom of an animal's foot or paw.
  13. 18
    a block of absorbent material saturated with ink; used to transfer ink evenly to a rubber stamp wordnet
  14. 19
    A soft area on the ends of a digit:; Any cushion-like part of the human body, especially the ends of the fingers.

    "Collie ignored him. Reached the finger further. Closer. And closer yet, until — […] Collie yanked his hand back and peered at it like a kid with an interesting new scrape. Then he turned to Steve and held it out. A bead of blood, small and dark and perfect, was forming on the pad of his index finger."

  15. 20
    the large floating leaf of an aquatic plant (as the water lily) wordnet
  16. 21
    A stuffed guard or protection, especially one worn on the legs of horses to prevent bruising.
  17. 22
    a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge wordnet
  18. 23
    A soft bag or cushion to relieve pressure, support a part, etc.
  19. 24
    A menstrual pad; a mass of absorbent material used to absorb menstrual flow.

    "In this study, when the views of the mothers on the tiring/straining situations during their daughters’ adolescence are examined, it is determined that the mothers mostly have difficulties in using the pads of their daughters, cleaning the hairs in the armpit and genital area, and bathing their daughters."

  20. 25
    A floating leaf of a water lily or similar plant. US
  21. 26
    A soft cover for a batsman's leg that protects the player from damage when hit by the ball.
  22. 27
    A kind of cushion for writing upon, or for blotting, especially one formed of many flat sheets of writing paper; now especially such a block of paper sheets as used to write on.
  23. 28
    A panel or strip of material designed to be sensitive to pressure or touch.
  24. 29
    Ellipsis of keypad. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
  25. 30
    Ellipsis of mouse pad. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
  26. 31
    a tablet PC slang
  27. 32
    A flat surface or area from which a helicopter or other aircraft may land or be launched.
  28. 33
    An electrical extension cord with a multi-port socket on one end; a "trip cord".
  29. 34
    The effect produced by sustained lower reed notes in a musical piece, most common in blues music.
  30. 35
    A synthesizer instrument sound used for sustained background sounds.
  31. 36
    A bed. US, slang
  32. 37
    A small house, apartment, or mobile home occupied by a single person; such as a bachelor, playboy, etc. colloquial
  33. 38
    A prison cell. UK, slang
  34. 39
    A random key (originally written on a disposable pad) of the same length as the plaintext.
  35. 40
    The amount by which a signal has been reduced.

    "It is a general practice to pad down a condenser mike with as much as a 20-30 dB pad."

  36. 41
    A piece of timber fixed on a beam to fit the curve of the deck.

    "let us at least trust that the hair-pins will do their duty, and maintain the respectability of passion by holding the pads and puffs and frizettes in their proper places."

Verb
  1. 1
    To stuff. transitive
  2. 2
    To travel along (a road, path etc.). transitive

    "Padding the streets for half a crown."

  3. 3
    add padding to wordnet
  4. 4
    To furnish with a pad or padding. transitive
  5. 5
    To travel on foot. intransitive
Show 9 more definitions
  1. 6
    add details to wordnet
  2. 7
    To increase the size of, especially by adding undesirable filler. transitive

    "The author began to pad her succinct stories with trite descriptions to keep up with current market trends."

  3. 8
    To wear a path by walking. intransitive

    "Who were the strugglers, what war did they wage, / Whose savage trample thus could pad the dank / Soil to a plash? [...]"

  4. 9
    line or stuff with soft material wordnet
  5. 10
    To imbue uniformly with a mordant. transitive

    "to pad cloth"

  6. 11
    To walk softly, quietly or steadily, especially without shoes. intransitive

    "Their feet padded softly on the ground, and they crept quite close to him, twitching their noses, while the Rabbit stared hard to see which side the clockwork stuck out..."

  7. 12
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud wordnet
  8. 13
    To deliberately play the ball with the leg pad instead of the bat. transitive
  9. 14
    To practise highway robbery. intransitive, obsolete

    "Their chief Argument is, That they never saw any Witches, therefore there are none. Just as if you or I should say, We never met with any Robbers on the Road, therefore there never was any Padding there."

Intj
  1. 1
    Indicating a soft flat sound, as of bare footsteps.

    "I heard her soft footsteps, pad, pad along the corridor."

Synonyms

All synonyms
abateabiding placeabodeaccount bookaddressaddress book

Antonyms

gallingungualburrow marksclaw

Example

"The rockets were fired from a launching pad."

Common questions

What does "pad" mean?

A flattened mass of anything soft, to sit or lie on.

What is a synonym for "pad"?

Common synonyms include: abate, abiding place, abode, account book, address, address book.

How do you use "pad" in a sentence?

The rockets were fired from a launching pad.

How do you pronounce "pad"?

Pronounced /pæd/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

1554, "bundle of straw to lie on". Unknown, and unclear all senses have common etymology. For sense "ends of a digit", cf. Low German or West Flemish pad (“sole of the foot”), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to pass”), which would make it related to both path and find.

Etymology 2

From Middle English pade, padde, from Old English padde, from Proto-West Germanic *paddā, from Proto-Germanic *paddǭ (“toad”). Cognate with Dutch pad, German Low German Pad (“toad”), dialectal German Padde, Danish padde, Swedish padda, Icelandic padda (“toad”), and possibly to English paddle. Doublet of pode

Etymology 3

From Dutch pad or Middle Low German pat (“path”). Doublet of path.

Etymology 4

Perhaps an alteration of ped.

Etymology 5

Probably partly from Middle Low German pat, partly imitative. Some senses possibly influenced by pad (“soft part of an animal's foot”, noun).

Etymology 6

Probably imitative, perhaps related to or influenced by Etymology 5, above.

More for "pad"

Synonyms

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