lad
noun
a boy or youth.
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lad
1 American
[lad]
/ læd /
noun
-
lads
plural
-
a boy or youth.
-
Informal. a familiar or affectionate term of address for a man; chap.
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British Horseracing Informal. a stable boy.
LAD
2
American
abbreviation
Psycholinguistics.
lad
British
/ læd /
noun
-
a boy or young man
-
informal a familiar form of address for any male
-
a lively or dashing man or youth (esp in the phrase a bit of a lad )
-
a young man whose behaviour is characteristic of male adolescents, esp in being rowdy, macho, or immature
-
a boy or man who looks after horses
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of lad
1250–1300; Middle English ladde < ?; compare late Old English Ladda (nickname)
Explanation
Lad is another word for a boy or a young man. A man who's been hit with a water balloon might turn around to a group of giggling boys and ask, "All right, which of you lads did that?" You can use the casual lad instead of guy, fellow, or chap. This word is much more common in Britain than in the U.S., although everyone understands what it means. Someone in London might talk about going out on the town with "the lads," while in Boston people are more likely to say they're meeting "the guys." Lad, originally spelled ladde, first meant "foot soldier," or "young servant."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"We've got plenty of Scousers in the academy and plenty who I think will play for the club. But if not and a lad comes from Warrington or wherever, that's not a problem," Inglethorpe insists.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
"There was so much stuff going on in Liverpool when I was a lad," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
It said Luke was a "charming, approachable and genuinely lovely lad", whose "kindness, enthusiasm and character" touched all at the sixth form.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
According to Kieran no-one exemplifies this better than a young lad named Cali whom he met in Alabama.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
“It’s not because I’m a lad that they let me keep my boots,” he said, with just as much outrage in his voice as I must have had in mine.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
If the LAD is blocked, the heart can stop suddenly, hence the moniker “widowmaker.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
By being in the environment, hearing the language and most important, understanding the language, somehow or other something kicks in in the brain called the LAD — the language acquisition device.
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2023
Dr. McCormack later told me a heart attack that occurs when the LAD is completely or almost completely blocked is commonly known as the widowmaker.
From Fox News ● Aug. 23, 2021
He paid tribute to hospital staff who diagnosed a blocked LAD artery - the main artery running down the front of the heart.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2018
"DEAR LAD, "As I said to her most glorious majesty, I say to you now.
From Westward Ho!, or, the voyages and adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, of Burrough, in the county of Devon, in the reign of her most glorious majesty Queen Elizabeth by Charles Kingsley
Watching the lads slowly bond together on the training pitch and at meal times was great to see and I found out a lot about all of them, good and bad.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
One year, I took Stoke down to Exmouth, where the lads were put through their paces doing cross-country circuits.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
"I don't think it hinders us. Some of the lads were talking about the last World Cup and it was probably one of the most difficult losses of my career to date," Williams added.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
"What never sat well with me was that my brother was not with a group of lads on a stag do," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Paul introduced all the lads of the reception committee—not by their real names, of course.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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