lad

¹

[lad]

noun

1. a boy or youth.

2. Informal.,  a familiar or affectionate term of address for a man; chap.

3. British Horseracing Informal.,  a stable boy.

LAD

²

abbreviation

Psycholinguistics.

1. language acquisition device.

lad

/ læd /

noun

1. a boy or young man

2. informal,  a familiar form of address for any male

3. a lively or dashing man or youth (esp in the phrase a bit of a lad )

4. a young man whose behaviour is characteristic of male adolescents, esp in being rowdy, macho, or immature

5. a boy or man who looks after horses

Other Word Forms

• laddish adjective
• ladhood noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lad¹

1250–1300; Middle English ladde < ?; compare late Old English Ladda (nickname)

Word History and Origins

Origin of lad¹

C13 ladde; perhaps of Scandinavian origin

Example Sentences

He created that, through him being out of order to one or two of the lads.

Read more on BBC

"There were a group of lads there from Leeds by the pool idolising him and they were saying 'I can't believe you're doing this to a superstar'," said Jackson.

Read more on BBC

The ticker replaced the swift-running lads who previously delivered price quotes from the telegraph office.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

One of the lads drafted this contract saying 'I must not be cheeky to the senior pros again' and he had to sign it before we let him out.

Read more on BBC

I was used to the people that sat around me and a couple of lads had gone a couple of rows from the front.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• fellow 
• schoolboy 
• youngster