dad

¹ American  

[dad] / dæd /

noun

1. a person’s father or one’s father.

2. a person who is corny or embarrassing in the way that a father figure might be.

   He was being such a dad when he told that story.

3. a term of endearment used to refer to a man or boy who is admired.

   A bunch of teens commented “HI DAD!” on the rapper’s post.

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adjective

1. corny or embarrassing in the way that a father figure might be: the most dad story ever.

   a dad joke;

   the most dad story ever.

2. handsome or stylish; amazing; to be admired.

   Those shoes are totally dad.

verb (used with object)

1. to act as a father toward; act paternally toward.

   Stop dadding me about my grades!

2. to refer to (an admired man or boy) as “dad”.

   My friends dad me whenever I look good.

verb (used without object)

1. to perform the tasks or duties of a male parent; act paternally.

   He dads like a champ.

2. to refer to an admired man or boy as “dad”.

   They dad whenever a new photo pops up on their feeds.

dad ² American  

[dad] / dæd /

interjection

Informal.

1. God (used in combination in mild oaths).

   dad-blamed; dad-gummed.

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dad ³ American  

[dad] / dæd /

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. a solid blow or knock.

2. a large slice, lump, or portion.

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ḍad ⁴ American  

[dahd] / dɑd /

noun

1. the 15th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

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dad British  

/ dæd /

noun

1. an informal word for father

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Etymology

Origin of dad¹

First recorded in 1530–40; probably originally baby talk dah-dah

Origin of dad²

First recorded in 1670–80; euphemism for God; Gad ¹ ( def. )

Origin of dad³

First recorded in 1710–20; probably variant of dab ¹

Origin of ḍad⁴

From Arabic

Example Sentences

The nightmare unfolded on what seemed like a normal Saturday, after Noa-Rose had been to the park with her dad.

From BBC

On the day of the verdict, Natalie's dad said there was an "outpouring of emotions" waiting for the result to come through, adding that it was "surreal".

From BBC

But sometimes mom and dad have to intervene to remind them it’s good for both to do well when it comes to family bragging rights.

From Los Angeles Times

I’m not in the same place in 2026 — about to be a dad, blah-blah-blah — that I was when I wrote that song.

From Los Angeles Times

At the age of 9, Russell followed in his dad’s footsteps and picked up a baseball bat.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• old man
• papa
• parent