cad

¹ American  

[kad] / kæd /

noun

1. an ill-bred man, especially one who behaves in a dishonorable or irresponsible way toward women.

   Synonyms:

   heel, rogue, rascal, rotter, bounder

2. British Archaic.

   1. a local town boy or youth, as contrasted with a university or public school student.

   2. a servant at a university or public school.

---

CAD ² American  

[kad] / kæd /

noun

1. computer-aided design.

---

CAD ¹ British  

acronym

1. computer-aided design

---

cad ² British  

/ kæd /

noun

1. informal a man who does not behave in a gentlemanly manner towards others

---

Other Word Forms

• caddish adjective

Etymology

Origin of cad

First recorded in 1780–90; short for caddie (in the sense “a person who runs errands and does odd jobs”)

Example Sentences

The novel reads like a wintry elegy to the once proud cad.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

The underdog here is Mark Ruffalo, whose comic turn as the cad Duncan Wedderburn in "Poor Things."

From Salon • Mar. 7, 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