dad

¹ American  

[dad] / dæd /

interjection

Informal.

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

   dad-blamed; dad-gummed.

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dad ² 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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dad ³ 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.

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

Origin of dad¹

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

Origin of dad¹

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

Origin of ḍad¹

From Arabic

Example Sentences

In 1954, at the age of 16, my dad was living with my grandfather in the Bronx when he was diagnosed with Hansen’s Disease, the preferred designation for leprosy.

From Salon

My dad is 85 and has his mind, but he’s physically disabled and not able to keep his house up.

From MarketWatch

After his conviction, the family court judge ruled that the couple's children would be able to visit their dad in prison after he began his sentence.

From BBC

There aren’t many photos from my parents’ childhood in Vietnam, and this snapshot of my dad was marred by a scratch.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We are heartbroken to announce that we lost our beloved dad today," said a family statement.

From BBC

Related Words

• old man
• papa
• parent