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• clad
  clad

  verb

  a simple past tense and past participle of clothe.
• clad-
  clad-

  variant of clado- before a vowel.

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

Harris introduces us to the girls in a sepia flashback, their small bodies clad in matching dresses, one head resting on the other’s shoulder.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

On Thursday, the North Korean leader, clad in his signature black leather jacket, inspected his country’s first nuclear-capable warship as it navigated off North Korea’s west coast.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Gabriela, a 30-year-old Colombian sporting tattoos and clad like most of her fellow sufferers in a white T-shirt, summed up their plight.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

It showed the 79-year-old clad in a white robe and papal-red cape, a divine light emanating from the palm of one hand while the other hand was placed on an ailing man.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

On the right of the stream there was a long slope, clad with grass, now grey in the twilight.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien