dad

¹

[dad]

noun

1. a person’s father or one’s father.

2. a person who is corny or embarrassing in the way that a father figure might be.

   He was being such a dad when he told that story.

3. a term of endearment used to refer to a man or boy who is admired.

   A bunch of teens commented “HI DAD!” on the rapper’s post.

adjective

1. corny or embarrassing in the way that a father figure might be: the most dad story ever.

   a dad joke;

   the most dad story ever.

2. handsome or stylish; amazing; to be admired.

   Those shoes are totally dad.

verb (used with object)

1. to act as a father toward; act paternally toward.

   Stop dadding me about my grades!

2. to refer to (an admired man or boy) as “dad”.

   My friends dad me whenever I look good.

verb (used without object)

1. to perform the tasks or duties of a male parent; act paternally.

   He dads like a champ.

2. to refer to an admired man or boy as “dad”.

   They dad whenever a new photo pops up on their feeds.

dad

²

[dad]

interjection

Informal.

1. God (used in combination in mild oaths).

   dad-blamed; dad-gummed.

dad

³

[dad]

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. a solid blow or knock.

2. a large slice, lump, or portion.

ḍad

⁴

[dahd]

noun

1. the 15th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

dad

/ dæd /

noun

1. an informal word for father

Word History and Origins

Origin of dad¹

First recorded in 1530–40; probably originally baby talk dah-dah

Origin of dad²

First recorded in 1670–80; euphemism for God; Gad ¹ ( def. )

Origin of dad³

First recorded in 1710–20; probably variant of dab ¹

Origin of dad⁴

From Arabic

Word History and Origins

Origin of dad¹

C16: childish word; compare Greek tata, Sanskrit tatas

Example Sentences

The dads who call shortly before decisions are released asking, What will it take to get the deal done?

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Skate dads in L.A. will yell unintelligibly at you as they whoosh by, and when you don’t respond they’ll spend the rest of the session snaking you at every turn.

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Just after my dad went to hospice, I called my wife, Devin, to update her.

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“There’s nothing worse than walking into my parents’ house and having my dad say, ‘What are you doing with this job search?’

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My dad was a sports star and the high school athletic director in my hometown, a real “Friday Night Lights” kind of place where football was king and athletes were revered.

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Related Words

• old man 
• papa 
• parent