gad
verb (used without object)
to move restlessly or aimlessly from one place to another.
gad
1 American
[gad]
/ gæd /
verb (used without object)
-
gads,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gadded,
past participle, past
-
gadding
present participle
noun
gad
2
American
[gad]
/ gæd /
noun
-
a goad for driving cattle.
-
a pointed mining tool for breaking up rock, coal, etc.
Gad
3
American
[gad]
/ gæd /
Or
gad
interjection
Gad
4
American
[gad]
/ gæd /
noun
-
-
(in the Bible) a son of Jacob and Zilpah.
-
one of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel, traditionally descended from him.
-
-
(in the Bible) a Hebrew prophet and chronicler of the court of David.
Gad
1
British
/ ɡæd /
noun
-
-
Jacob's sixth son, whose mother was Zilpah, Leah's maid
-
the Israelite tribe descended from him
-
the territory of this tribe, lying to the east of the Jordan and extending southwards from the Sea of Galilee
-
-
a prophet and admonisher of David (I Samuel 22; II Samuel 24)
gad
2
British
/ ɡæd /
noun
-
mining a short chisel-like instrument for breaking rock or coal from the face
-
a goad for driving cattle
-
a western US word for spur
verb
gad
3
British
/ ɡæd /
verb
noun
Gad
4
British
/ ɡæd /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gadsimple
-
gadssimple
-
have gaddedperfect
-
has gaddedperfect
-
am gaddingprogressive
-
are gaddingprogressive
-
is gaddingprogressive
-
have been gaddingperfect progressive
-
has been gaddingperfect progressive
Past
-
gaddedsimple
-
had gaddedperfect
-
was gaddingprogressive
-
were gaddingprogressive
-
had been gaddingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gad1
1425–75; late Middle English gadden, perhaps back formation from gadeling companion in arms, fellow (in 16th century, vagabond, wanderer), Old English gædeling, derivative of gæd fellowship; see gather, -ling 1
Origin of gad2
1175–1225; Middle English < Old Norse gaddr spike; cognate with Gothic gazds
Origin of Gad3
First recorded in 1600–10; euphemism for God
Origin of Gad4
From Late Latin, from Greek Gád, from Hebrew Gādh “(good) luck”
Explanation
To gad is to wander without much purpose, aside from having fun. You might gad around town on a Saturday afternoon with your friends, looking for something entertaining to do. If someone's roving from place to place seeking amusement, you can say they gad about. Your brother might gad about the neighborhood all day while you're at home diligently studying for a math test. As a noun, a gad is a tool with a point on it, like a chisel, and in the western U.S. it's also a word meaning "spur," the spike on a cowboy's boot used to encourage a horse to get going. This verb forms the noun gadabout, a person who restlessly seeks amusement.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The humor doesn’t so much pop as gad about.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2022
Bernice King’s father gad called Vivian “the greatest preacher who ever lived,” a fierce and influential advocate for social justice.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 10, 2021
But do you remember how that face looked in 1992, when the supermodel, shown below, was in her 20s, on the gad at the Park Avenue Armory for a Versace gala, aglitter in ruby sequins?
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2012
Brazil forward Alexandre Pato would rather play for Milan than gad about with England's Brave John Terry at Chelsea.
From The Guardian ● May 11, 2010
"By gad, I'll have my lawyers on to her for this! I'll make her pay through the nose!"
From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl
To Gad Levanon, this is not a surprise.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
"One of the conditions for keeping the licence is to actively explore the area," Pram Gad pointed out, while noting that "the company is under pressure", as it is not active currently.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Gad Saad is about to do it in reverse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Tony Gad, of Aswad, said the project would preserve the music's history for future generations.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
“Gad, sir! Gad, sir!” stuttered a member of the latest dynasty, a king of the Skookum Benches.
From "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London
The Americas with Simon Reeve is an amiable travelogue in which a dishy documentarian gads about the US.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 27, 2019
When the Senate is not sitting, he gads about the country publicizing golf tournaments on public links.
From Time Magazine Archive
She got disgusted and said, Ye gads, like ABC gum, already been chewed.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
One can't suppose that he's rich enough to fling all his salary to an understudy while he gads.
From The Lightning Conductor Discovers America by C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson
Black billets in the arms of Delves of Cheshire stand for “delves” of earth and the gads of steel in the arms of the London Ironmongers’ Company took a somewhat similar form.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3 "Helmont, Jean" to "Hernosand" by Various
One was back in the city, on the evening of a reporter’s visit, to be followed the next day by a conference where he gadded about with John Legend.
From New York Times ● Nov. 6, 2015
So while Johann I gadded about, Johann II composed and practiced the organ in church.
From Time Magazine Archive
Mrs. Ogletree even primped her boy Georgie, whom she’d gadded up in a green velvet Little Lord Fauntleroy suit.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
But all sorts of ugly stories were already told about her, and she gadded round the town upon very various errands.
From Norse Tales and Sketches by Alexander Lange Kielland
But if it gets out that I gadded about for a day with an officer, even though he is a padre, and that we went miles out of town, there'll be some row, my boy.
From Simon Called Peter by Robert Keable
But with the big night in sight there's no more time for gadding about.
From BBC ● May 15, 2019
It has been a good twenty-five years since they would have been arrested, or shot, just for gadding about in joy on the river, as they are now.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2015
The other half of the year, when we’re not gadding about, Cosima cooks for us at her place.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2015
Hockney, an Englishman who loves opera and long designed opera sets, is reading more and gadding about less.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2015
“You re just the person we need, Mary Poppins. My wife’s off gadding, and I’m left to sit on the eggs. Do take a turn, there’s a good girl. I need a little rest.”
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
