brad
noun
a slender wire nail having either a small, deep head or a projection to one side of the head end.
brad
1 American
[brad]
/ bræd /
noun
-
brads
plural
verb (used with object)
bradded,
bradding
Brad
2
American
[brad]
/ bræd /
noun
brad
British
/ bræd /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of brad
1425–75; late Middle English brad, dialectal variant of Middle English brod ( d ) sprout, shoot, nail < Old Norse braddr, cognate with Old English brord spike ( see braird)
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:
Starting with the centermost box, hold the top molding piece level and attach it to the wall with your brad nailer, adding a nail every 12 inches.
From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2023
“Whoever picked that cover for brad pitt’s GQ issue is getting fireddddd,” wrote @nicholasdante_.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2022
Louis Vuitton logo brad is seen outside a Louis Vuitton store in Paris, France, January 27, 2020.
From Reuters ● Sep. 22, 2021
Tweeted one: “walter is brad pitt for us smart girls.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 28, 2017
The placard had been there on that day too. brad bolitar, it read, in plain black ink on a white index card in a weather-protected plastic case.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
Brad Cooper, confirmed them after inspecting the vessel.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
"This doesn't mean all is perfect," said Admiral Brad Cooper, adding that "service at sea for long periods isn't for everyone".
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Then he and and lead vocalist Brad Delp refined six songs, playing all the instruments except the drums with Delp handling the vocals, and sent out a new tape.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Brad Wright, chairman of the school’s board, said he was unaware of which coaches were under investigation even though he was on campus earlier this week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
The class respected what Brad had tried to do, and Ralph was struck by a sudden thought: Brad was exactly the sort of boy who could understand a mouse who rode a motorcycle.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
Paper bag, plush, and recently she started making flat ones out of cardboard that have joints made out of metal brads giving them some mobility.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 10, 2016
An insurance adjuster allowed the claim, but the company discovered that smart Gerald Bodine had mulcted insurance firms ten times for gulping nails, brads, tacks, pins, et al.
From Time Magazine Archive
I had been promoted from gluing on the bristles to fastening the wooden halves of a brush together with brads.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
The brass brads are placed about one inch apart the entire length of the boards.
From Boys' Book of Model Boats by Raymond F. (Raymond Francis) Yates
Nail boards to posts with tacks or small brads.
From Primary Handwork by Ella Victoria Dobbs
I switched on the light and looked into a cracked piece of mirror bradded with bent nails to the wall.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
You have bradded me on, and told me that a man of the woods always gets what he wants if he goes after it right.
From King Spruce, A Novel by Holman Day
They come in thick wood doors with iron nails bradded through, fastened on big hinges, fastened it with chains and iron bars.
From Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Arkansas Narratives, Part 4 by Work Projects Administration
It was three planks thick, crossed one another and bradded together wid iron nails.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Arkansas Narratives, Part 2 by Work Projects Administration
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.
