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• lad
  lad

  noun

  a boy or youth.
• LAD
  LAD

  abbreviation

  language acquisition device.

lad

¹ American  

[lad] / læd /

noun

• lads
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• ladhood
  noun
• laddish
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lads
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of lad

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

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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

See Examples For:

lad LAD lads

First and foremost, he was a really good lad.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

"He was just a proper family lad with a heart of gold and he'd do anything for his family."

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

I think he did, but he was such a great lad, top player and a great team member that he wasn't a problem anyway.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

In the video, uploaded to a Russian recruitment account, Townsend described himself as "a normal working-class lad from Yorkshire".

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

“Then the lad here was right. Came to me just now and said he’d seen the fire-eater up there behind a column.”

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

By being in the environment, hearing the language and most important, understanding the language, somehow or other something kicks in in the brain called the LAD — the language acquisition device.

From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2023

Dr. McCormack later told me a heart attack that occurs when the LAD is completely or almost completely blocked is commonly known as the widowmaker.

From Fox News ● Aug. 23, 2021

CHIEFTAIN'S LAD settled off the pace and off the rail, chased three wide then four wide to the second turn and faded in the stretch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2019

He paid tribute to hospital staff who diagnosed a blocked LAD artery - the main artery running down the front of the heart.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2018

LAD, s. a sweetheart LADDIE, s. a boy, or young man.

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume XXIV. by Alexander Leighton

One year, I took Stoke down to Exmouth, where the lads were put through their paces doing cross-country circuits.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

My first-team then was made up of some really strong characters, but who were also great lads and old-school to the core, in the ways I've been talking about in this column.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Everybody hates them, everyone thinks that they cheated and he just walks on the pitch and says, 'give me the ball lads, let me have some fun'.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

It was early July at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, and the lads were about to test themselves against Brazil for a spot in the quarterfinals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

As she finished her prayer the two lads sank to the ground.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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Related Words

• fellow
• schoolboy
• youngster

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