pal
noun
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pal
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PAL
PALnouna special air service offered by the U.S. Postal Service for sending parcels from 5 to 30 pounds (2.3 to 13.5 kilograms) to overseas members of the armed forces: only the regular parcel post rate to the U.S. port of shipment plus $1 is charged.
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pal.
pal.abbreviationpaleography.
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Pal.
Pal.abbreviationPalestine.
pal
1 American
[pal]
/ pæl /
verb (used without object)
palled,
palling
PAL
2
American
[pal]
/ pæl /
noun
PAL
3
American
Or
P.A.L.
abbreviation
pal.
4
American
abbreviation
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paleography.
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paleontology.
Pal.
5
American
abbreviation
pal
1
British
/ pæl /
noun
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a close friend; comrade
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an accomplice
verb
Pal.
2
British
abbreviation
PAL
3
British
/ pæl /
acronym
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pal1
First recorded in 1675–85; English Romani: “brother, mate,” variant of continental Romani phral, ultimately from Sanskrit bhrātṛ “brother”; see brother
Origin of PAL2
P(arcel) A(ir) L(ift)
Explanation
A pal is a good friend. When you're feeling nervous, sad, or lonely after moving to a new town, it can make you feel better to talk to a pal. If you have a friend you think of as a buddy or a mate, that's a pal. Your earliest pals are often the kids in your neighborhood or at school. As you get older, you have the chance to meet more pals — and when you're friendly with these pals and hang out with them, you can say you "pal around" with them. Pal is originally a Romany word meaning "brother," from the Sanskrit bhrata, also "brother."
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:
It only occurred to me recently that Sarandon was 44 years old when she played Louise, the pal who pulled the trigger.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Joe Biden had called him a pal during a 2022 visit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
After fulfilling her contract with the Columbia label, the singer signed last year to Warner Records, where an old high school pal, Tim Hinshaw, oversees a boutique label called Free Lunch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
British artists Ed Sheeran -- another Swift pal -- and Paul McCartney may also go on stage.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
“You? No, why? I don’t want any of these teachers flapping around him. But a pal or two, it’ll do him good.”
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
"If all robot production goes to Japan or China, that could be a big problem when it comes to sovereignty," said Francesco Ferro, chief executive of Spain's PAL Robotics.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
Researchers measured the activity of protective enzymes including APX, SOD, PAL, and POD, while also analyzing gene expression linked to antioxidant defense systems.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
The Mitchells will have to learn to work together though when an evil AI named PAL decides to take revenge on humanity by launching them into space.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
It added that Air Canada Jazz, PAL Airlines and Air Canada Express flights were unaffected by the strike.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2025
They had risen with the dawn and taken Philippines Airlines, PAL for short, to Davao.
From The Pirates of Shan by Harold L. (Harold Leland) Goodwin
"See ya, pal. I'm going to miss you", American actor Josh Brolin wrote alongside a picture of himself and Kilmer on Instagram.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2025
“Once you’ve been out there shivering with someone, they’re your pal. You are connected in a certain way,” she adds.
From Washington Times ● May 3, 2023
“Goodbye, old pal. Thank you ... for so much brilliance in the theatre and sharing your music with us all.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
“Um, step aside, pal. You’re way too young and buff and you know it.”
From Fox News ● Apr. 2, 2020
“That’s Kinko to you, pal. Only my friends call me Walter.”
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
And true it is, that as men liue, so commonlie they die: for, as one saith verie well: M. Pal. in suo scor. —— bona nulla scelestis Et iustis mala nulla quidem contingere possunt.
From Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (2 of 6): England (4 of 12) Stephan Earle Of Bullongne by Raphael Holinshed
See Rostagno in the preface to his edition of this manuscript in the Leyden series, and for the Pliny, Chatelain, Pal. des Class.
From A Sixth-Century Fragment of the Letters of Pliny the Younger A Study of Six Leaves of an Uncial Manuscript Preserved in the Pierpont Morgan Library New York by E. A. (Elias Avery) Lowe
To be bréefe, he plaied in all points the right part of a tyrant, and shewed himselfe such a one in all respects as mainteined his title, Pal. in suo cap.
From Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (2 of 6): England (6 of 12) Richard the First by Raphael Holinshed
Robert of Gloucester: "With helm and hauberk;" and Dryden, Pal. and Arc. iii.
From Select Poems of Thomas Gray by Robert Carruthers
With his elevated speech, tony air and throwback attire, he’s like someone from another era; you could see him as one of Jay Gatsby’s pals or a bon vivant who drops by on “Downton Abbey.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The young Spider-Man fights crime with super pals named Spin and Ghost-Spider.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Would James return home to Cleveland, return to Miami, possibly join pals Stephen Curry and Draymond Green at Golden State?
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
However, this is not the first time the comparison with our Scandinavian pals has cropped up.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Because I bet that having moms be pals is almost as tough on kids as having moms who can't stand each other.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
In the early 1960s, when Robert Duvall was struggling to make it in New York City, he palled around with a couple of fellow actors also trying to find their way in the business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
Billionaires Bill Gates and Peter Thiel palled around with Epstein long after his conviction, as did Kathryn Ruemmler, one of the top lawyers in the Obama administration, who is now General Counsel at Goldman Sachs.
From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2025
During his years as an actor in New York, Hackman palled around with Hoffman and another struggling actor, Robert Duvall, and worked a variety of jobs that included doorman and cab driver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025
He cracked corny jokes, flubbed lines to prepared speeches and kept important business people waiting while he palled around with schoolchildren.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2023
The long hot idle summer days palled on me.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Bad Bunny’s escapades in the sovereign city-state also include palling around with Sergio “Checo” Pérez.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
Plus, Musk might be a bit busy to be palling around with the powerful in snowy Switzerland.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2023
But what good is palling around with people in a sprawling, interconnected virtual space if you can’t feel the “world” around you?
From Washington Post ● Jan. 5, 2022
Brady was shown palling around with his boyhood idol, Joe Montana, as well as with other great quarterbacks, such as Brett Favre, John Elway and Dan Marino.
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2020
Once, in the middle of a dense stand of oak, they came face-to-face with three men palling a load of firewood in an ax cart, with no way for either to get around.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
