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  • pal
    pal
    noun
    a friend or close associate; chum; comrade.
  • PAL
    PAL
    noun
    a special air service offered by the U.S. Postal Service for sending parcels from 5 to 30 pounds (2.3 to 13.5 kilograms) to overseas members of the armed forces: only the regular parcel post rate to the U.S. port of shipment plus $1 is charged.
  • pal.
    pal.
    abbreviation
    paleography.
  • Pal.
    Pal.
    abbreviation
    Palestine.
Synonyms

pal

1 American  
[pal] / pæl /

noun

  • pals
    plural
  1. a friend or close associate; chum; comrade.

  2. an accomplice.


verb (used without object)

palled, palling
  1. to associate as comrades or chums.

    to pal around with the kid next door.

PAL 2 American  
[pal] / pæl /

noun

  1. a special air service offered by the U.S. Postal Service for sending parcels from 5 to 30 pounds (2.3 to 13.5 kilograms) to overseas members of the armed forces: only the regular parcel post rate to the U.S. port of shipment plus $1 is charged.


PAL 3 American  
Or P.A.L.

abbreviation

  1. Police Athletic League.


pal. 4 American  

abbreviation

  1. paleography.

  2. paleontology.


Pal. 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. Palestine.


pal 1 British  
/ pæl /

noun

  1. a close friend; comrade

  2. an accomplice

"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

verb

  1. (intr; usually foll by with or about) to associate as friends

"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
Pal. 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. Palestine

"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

PAL 3 British  
/ pæl /

acronym

  1. phase alternation line: a colour-television broadcasting system used generally in Europe

"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 pal1

First recorded in 1675–85; English Romani: “brother, mate,” variant of continental Romani phral, ultimately from Sanskrit bhrātṛ “brother”; see brother

Origin of PAL2

P(arcel) A(ir) L(ift)


Explanation

A pal is a good friend. When you're feeling nervous, sad, or lonely after moving to a new town, it can make you feel better to talk to a pal. If you have a friend you think of as a buddy or a mate, that's a pal. Your earliest pals are often the kids in your neighborhood or at school. As you get older, you have the chance to meet more pals — and when you're friendly with these pals and hang out with them, you can say you "pal around" with them. Pal is originally a Romany word meaning "brother," from the Sanskrit bhrata, also "brother."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

See Examples For:

It reportedly contained a joking reference that "enigmas never age" and allegedly ended with the words: "A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret".

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

At around 15, he and his pal Neil Zlozower attended a concert and were struck by the photographers up front covering the show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

"My Brownie leader came in with a cigar box full of names and asked if anyone would like a pen pal from Scotland," she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

He is approached by an old Army pal, Wild Bill Grimsley, now in charge of shepherding Asian high-rollers around the top-of-the-line Bacchanal casino.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Could it be that you don’t think of your old pal Charlie anymore?

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Chinese firms Unitree and AgiBot aim to again wow spectators with their dextrous humanoid robots, while European start-ups including Genesis and PAL Robotics will also be on show.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

Researchers measured the activity of protective enzymes including APX, SOD, PAL, and POD, while also analyzing gene expression linked to antioxidant defense systems.

From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026

The Mitchells will have to learn to work together though when an evil AI named PAL decides to take revenge on humanity by launching them into space.

From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025

It added that Air Canada Jazz, PAL Airlines and Air Canada Express flights were unaffected by the strike.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2025

Dog Meat and me, we take next PAL plane to Baguio.

From The Golden Skull by Harold L. (Harold Leland) Goodwin

"See ya, pal. I'm going to miss you", American actor Josh Brolin wrote alongside a picture of himself and Kilmer on Instagram.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2025

“Once you’ve been out there shivering with someone, they’re your pal. You are connected in a certain way,” she adds.

From Washington Times ● May 3, 2023

“Goodbye, old pal. Thank you ... for so much brilliance in the theatre and sharing your music with us all.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2021

“Um, step aside, pal. You’re way too young and buff and you know it.”

From Fox News ● Apr. 2, 2020

“Things are looking up, pal. Now strap in. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

To be bréefe, he plaied in all points the right part of a tyrant, and shewed himselfe such a one in all respects as mainteined his title, Pal. in suo cap.

From Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (2 of 6): England (6 of 12) Richard the First by Raphael Holinshed

See Rostagno in the preface to his edition of this manuscript in the Leyden series, and for the Pliny, Chatelain, Pal. des Class.

From A Sixth-Century Fragment of the Letters of Pliny the Younger A Study of Six Leaves of an Uncial Manuscript Preserved in the Pierpont Morgan Library New York by E. A. (Elias Avery) Lowe

And true it is, that as men liue, so commonlie they die: for, as one saith verie well: M. Pal. in suo scor. —— bona nulla scelestis Et iustis mala nulla quidem contingere possunt.

From Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (2 of 6): England (4 of 12) Stephan Earle Of Bullongne by Raphael Holinshed

Robert of Gloucester: "With helm and hauberk;" and Dryden, Pal. and Arc. iii.

From Select Poems of Thomas Gray by Robert Carruthers

"I've got a couple of pals who were there and frequently remind me of what I missed out on but I like to think I made up for it after that."

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

To help put guests at ease, she interviews their pals and co-workers to “speak well behind their back.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

If you want to hang with your pals, then coordinate a post-show meet-up at the bar or the diner or on the way to the subway.

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026

Here is how her two new plastic pals fared when cleaning her apartment, which included a special challenge.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

I make my own way down the stairs and out the door hoping my pals won’t see me with boys who wear kilts and girls with white teeth and fancy dresses from olden times.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

In the early 1960s, when Robert Duvall was struggling to make it in New York City, he palled around with a couple of fellow actors also trying to find their way in the business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026

Billionaires Bill Gates and Peter Thiel palled around with Epstein long after his conviction, as did Kathryn Ruemmler, one of the top lawyers in the Obama administration, who is now General Counsel at Goldman Sachs.

From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2025

He cracked corny jokes, flubbed lines to prepared speeches and kept important business people waiting while he palled around with schoolchildren.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2023

She relished learning about religious traditions and sorting through classic theological dilemmas, but eventually the course palled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2022

The long hot idle summer days palled on me.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

But he’s no friendly face, having lost faith in the Jedi Order and palling around with some of the galaxy’s largest undesirables other than the evil Empire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2023

Plus, Musk might be a bit busy to be palling around with the powerful in snowy Switzerland.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2023

But what good is palling around with people in a sprawling, interconnected virtual space if you can’t feel the “world” around you?

From Washington Post ● Jan. 5, 2022

Brady was shown palling around with his boyhood idol, Joe Montana, as well as with other great quarterbacks, such as Brett Favre, John Elway and Dan Marino.

From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2020

Once, in the middle of a dense stand of oak, they came face-to-face with three men palling a load of firewood in an ax cart, with no way for either to get around.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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