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.

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CAD ² American  

[kad] / kæd /

noun

1. computer-aided design.

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CAD ¹ British  

acronym

1. computer-aided design

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cad ² British  

/ kæd /

noun

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

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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”)

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."

Example Sentences

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

Handsome and popular, his bad boyfriend would be a stock cad in any other movie.

From Los Angeles Times • 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

“You carried off one of my stockings last night, and you are a thieving cad, and I hope Mrs. Dudley can hear me.”

From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson