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

‘Project Hail Mary’ gets a soaring film adaptation, Steve Carell plays a meddling dad, Amanda Peet stars in an off-beat dramedy, and much, much more.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

They remember my dad bringing me in — I remember the day that Image Comics premiered at Golden Apple.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

My dad insisted I get a job before he’d help me buy a car, but I said I couldn’t get a job without a car.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

"It was a very small theatre, and when dad heard her laugh, he was like, 'There's sunshine coming out of the crowd'. He knew right then, 'This is my wife'."

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

“Hard bargain,” my dad said, just as we heard Uncle Max pulling in.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Related Words

• old man
• papa
• parent