padding

American  

[pad-ing] / ˈpæd ɪŋ /

noun

1. material, as cotton or straw, used to pad something.

2. something added unnecessarily or dishonestly, as verbiage to a speech or a false charge on an expense account.

3. the act of a person or thing that pads. pad.

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padding British  

/ ˈpædɪŋ /

noun

1. any soft material used to pad clothes, furniture, etc

2. superfluous material put into a speech or written work to pad it out; waffle

3. inflated or false entries in a financial account, esp an expense account

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Etymology

Origin of padding

First recorded in 1820–30; pad ¹ + -ing ¹

Explanation

A cushioning or protective material is padding. When you're moving into a new apartment, you might want to wrap your dishes in padding to keep them from being damaged. Padding has many different uses, from the padding in a padded mailing envelope to the padding in a sofa cushion that gives you a soft place to sit. There's also padding inside protective sports gear and built into yoga mats. Sometimes padding is simply used to make something seem bigger, and from this meaning comes the sense of padding meaning "unnecessary extra material," especially superfluous words in a speech or a book.

Example Sentences

Early’s performance is a truly remarkable highwire act, all the more so for the wig, padding and prosthetics he wears to play the character.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

My pod was roomy, with solid seat padding and a large TV screen that swiveled.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

The blaze at Le Constellation bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana is believed to have started when sparklers attached to champagne bottles set light to sound-insulating foam padding on the ceiling.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026

Enhancing the cabin’s upgraded experience are the comfy front seats with loads of padding to absorb the abuse of going off pavement.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 26, 2025

Setting aside an ambition to be a Canadian Mountie, Woolf began race riding while in his mid-teens, apparently padding his age by a year.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand