lad

¹ American  

[lad] / læd /

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.

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LAD ² American  

abbreviation

Psycholinguistics.

1. language acquisition device.

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lad British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• laddish adjective
• ladhood noun

Etymology

Origin of lad

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

Explanation

Lad is another word for a boy or a young man. A man who's been hit with a water balloon might turn around to a group of giggling boys and ask, "All right, which of you lads did that?" You can use the casual lad instead of guy, fellow, or chap. This word is much more common in Britain than in the U.S., although everyone understands what it means. Someone in London might talk about going out on the town with "the lads," while in Boston people are more likely to say they're meeting "the guys." Lad, originally spelled ladde, first meant "foot soldier," or "young servant."

Example Sentences

In addition to being named Orson, the lad has chronic gastrointestinal distress and plays the bassoon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

To find out the character of these players, I would go through numerous routes to make sure the lad I was going to sign indeed had the right credentials.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

The lad is only 10 years old, though, so he’ll have to wait: Nobody under 12 is allowed to fly.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

Elliott said: "It's absolutely brilliant. It's such an honour, a lad from a council estate in Rotherham, and after all these years, getting an MBE is just such an honour. I'm very much a royalist."

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

There must have been vents in the cell because he heard Hoede say, “Be a brave lad, and there’s a few kruge in it for you.”

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Related Words

• fellow
• schoolboy
• youngster