pad

pad¹ S3 [pæd] n

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1¦(soft material)¦

2¦(paper)¦

3¦(flat ground)¦

4¦(animal's foot)¦

5¦(apartment)¦

6¦(water plant)¦

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[Date: 1500-1600; Origin: Perhaps from Low German, 'bottom surface of the foot']

1.) ¦(SOFT MATERIAL)¦

a thick flat object made of cloth or rubber, used to protect or clean something, or to make something more comfortable

pad of

▪ Press on the wound with a large pad of cotton wool.

▪ Use an abrasive pad for stubborn stains.

knee/elbow/shin/shoulder pad

(=a pad that you wear to protect a part of your body when you are playing a sport)

2.) ¦(PAPER)¦

several sheets of paper fastened together, used for writing or drawing

writing/sketch/memo/legal etc pad

▪ a box of paints and a sketch pad

▪ Keep a telephone pad and a pen to hand.

▪ a pad of paper

3.) ¦(FLAT GROUND)¦

a piece of flat ground where small aircraft can land

launch/landing/helicopter pad

▪ The hospital has built a helicopter pad.

4.) ¦(ANIMAL'S FOOT)¦

the flesh on the bottom of the foot of a cat, dog, etc

5.) ¦(APARTMENT)¦

old-fashioned informal someone's apartment or the room where they live

6.) ¦(WATER PLANT)¦

the leaf of a ↑water lily

→↑launch pad, ↑helicopter pad

pad ²

pad² v past tense and past participle padded present participle padding

[Sense: 1; Date: 1500-1600; : Low German; Origin: padden 'to go along a path']

[Sense: 2-4; Date: 1800-1900; Origin: PAD¹]

1.) [I always + adverb/preposition]

to walk softly and quietly

pad across/through/along etc

▪ The cat came padding silently back to its home.

▪ She padded barefoot down the stairs.

2.) [T] also pad (sth) out BrE

to fill or cover something with a soft material in order to protect it or make it more comfortable

pad sth with sth

▪ jackets padded out with a soft cotton filling

3.) [T] AmE

to dishonestly make bills more expensive than they should be

▪ padding the bills of Medicare patients

4.) [T] also pad (sth) out

to make a speech or piece of writing longer by adding unnecessary words or details

▪ Don't pad out your answer to make it seem impressive.

pad with

▪ His autobiography is padded with boring anecdotes.