dad

¹

[dad]

interjection

Informal.

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

   dad-blamed; dad-gummed.

dad

²

[dad]

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. a solid blow or knock.

2. a large slice, lump, or portion.

dad

³

[dad]

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.

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.

ḍad

⁴

[dahd]

noun

1. the 15th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

dad

/ dæd /

noun

1. an informal word for father

Word History and Origins

Origin of dad¹

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

Origin of dad²

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

Origin of dad³

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

Origin of dad⁴

From Arabic

Word History and Origins

Origin of dad¹

C16: childish word; compare Greek tata, Sanskrit tatas

Example Sentences

Musk met Grimes while trying to make a dad joke about Roko’s Basilisk, a thought experiment about an all-powerful future artificial intelligence that punishes past critics via time travel.

Read more on Salon

TANG: I have a dad who’s a customer who bought Light Phones for the entire family, similar to your story.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

After hearing that the man's family was from Istanbul, Mr Archer said he replied: "Oh, my dad is from Istanbul."

Read more on BBC

Stevens grew up wanting to be a leader like his dad.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Outside of work, what’s paramount in Lachey’s life “is being a dad and being present for my kids, and really being involved in their life,” he says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• old man 
• papa 
• parent