cad
noun
an ill-bred man, especially one who behaves in a dishonorable or irresponsible way toward women.
cad
1 American
[kad]
/ kæd /
noun
-
cads
plural
CAD
2
American
[kad]
/ kæd /
noun
CAD
1
British
acronym
cad
2
British
/ kæd /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cad
First recorded in 1780–90; short for caddie (in the sense “a person who runs errands and does odd jobs”)
Explanation
A cad is a man who is not gentlemanly or honorable, especially toward a woman. He asked the waitress for her phone number and left you with the check? That cad! Also known as a rake, a scoundrel, a rascal, or a heel, a cad is not a guy you want to be around too long. The word cad came from the word cadet, meaning a "servant." Later cad came to be a derogatory term used by students at British universities, referring to boys from local towns. Don’t confuse the word cad with the acronym CAD, meaning "computer-aided design."
Vocabulary lists containing cad
Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 4
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The Haunting of Hill House
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Whirligig
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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:
The novel reads like a wintry elegy to the once proud cad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Dabney Coleman, the beloved character actor who famously played the dastardly cad overseeing Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton in “9 to 5,” has died.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2024
In the past, words or phrases deemed to have stepped over the line include "impertinent dog", "cad", "blethering", "guttersnipe" and "git".
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2023
After the band raced through “Have Mercy,” an early Judds hit about a hopeless cad, Wynonna grabbed a stack of scrap paper.
From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2023
He was a swindler, a welsher, a cad, and a rogue.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
His and Shen’s combined net income during their 10-year wealth-building period ranged from CAD $65,500 to CAD $168,680.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
By month’s end, CAD Management estimates Bublé will be 9% ahead of Carey in terms of streams.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 24, 2025
The team analyzed fecal samples from 14 people with CAD and compared them to samples from 28 healthy participants using metagenomic sequencing, a powerful technique that identifies all the DNA within a sample.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2025
He appealed for anyone with video footage from the area to get in touch with the police on 101 quoting CAD 4647/24Aug.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2025
Gemmell to brief the Minister and the Dir. of CAD and senior execs, of Air N.Z. as to what had transpired at that early date in the investigation.
From Judgments of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand on Proceedings to Review Aspects of the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Mount Erebus Aircraft Disaster C.A. 95/81 by New Zealand. Court of Appeal
There may be nothing princely about Bitton’s portrayal, but he’s so much more lovable than the posh cads of swankier Benedicks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
The character was probably based on acting colleague - and fellow portrayer of cads - Terry-Thomas.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2022
They know that some people will turn out to be cads.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2022
He refused to play cowards or cads and took on characters, especially in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” of almost divine goodness.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2022
You can't guess how he's been tormented by some of those cads, simply because he's our best tennis player, and on the football team.
From Five Little Peppers at School by Hermann Heyer
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.
