clad

¹ American  

[klad] / klæd /

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of clothe.

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adjective

1. dressed.

   ill-clad vagrants.

2. covered.

   vine-clad cottages.

clad ² American  

[klad] / klæd /

verb (used with object)

clad, cladding

1. to bond a metal to (another metal), especially to provide with a protective coat.

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clad- ³ American  

1. variant of clado- before a vowel.

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clad ¹ British  

/ klæd /

verb

1. a past participle of clothe

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clad ² British  

/ klæd /

verb

1. (tr) to bond a metal to (another metal), esp to form a protective coating

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Etymology

Origin of clad¹

before 950; Middle English cladd ( e ), Old English clāthod ( e ) clothed. See clothe, -ed ²

Origin of clad²

First recorded in 1935–40; special use of clad ¹

Explanation

Clad means "dressed or covered." Most kids go to school clad in jeans and t-shirts, but students in the Shakespeare club might show up clad in velvet gowns or leather breeches. As a verb, clad is the past tense and past particle of “clothe,” as in “the leprechaun clad himself in green.” It’s also an adjective that describes being covered or clothed, so a building can be clad in brick, while a person can be clad in head-to-toe sequins. It’s an old-fashioned word, kind of like “shod,” which means “wearing footwear.”

Example Sentences

Instead of incessant strobes and Charli clad in a slinky skirt, performing solo with no choreography, Johannes proposes backup dancers, green glitter, high wires and harnesses.

From Salon • Feb. 8, 2026

The design could be modeled on the U-shaped Panathenaic Stadium in Athens—the quintessential example of pure classical architecture reconstructed in the second century and entirely clad in marble.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

That same month, Trump made an unusual visit to the construction site during which the two men, clad in hard hats, bickered over the price tag for the makeover.

From Barron's • Jan. 12, 2026

Few people forget their school cross-country days, trudging through murky playing fields on freezing winter afternoons, invariably clad in kit sourced from the lost property bin.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026

The pent waters spread out into a long oval lake, pale Nen Hithoel, fenced by steep grey hills whose sides were clad with trees, but their heads were bare, cold-gleaming in the sunlight.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien