Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

lily pad

American  

noun

lily pads plural
  1. the large, floating leaf of a water lily.


lily pad British  

noun

  1. any of the floating leaves of a water lily

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of lily pad

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15

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.

Villarreal: I am ready to float on a lily pad the whole season.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2025

ChatGPT: A lily pad in a pond that doubles in size every day will cover half the pond on the 19th day, one day before it covers the entire pond.

From Slate • Dec. 7, 2022

Just a few miles farther, but far from the crowds, we reach the secluded waterfront cottage that we have booked for a full week — our lily pad from which to make exploratory hops.

From Washington Post • Aug. 13, 2022

“I wouldn’t call it a sturdy bridge into the future, but like a solid lily pad we’ve landed on.”

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2022

Miguel and Sierra were waiting for him near the life-size statue of Mr. Lemoncello perched atop a lily pad in a reflecting pool.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "lily pad" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com