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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 only occurred to me recently that Sarandon was 44 years old when she played Louise, the pal who pulled the trigger.

From Salon Jul. 26, 2026

Mr. Hernández, a “Saturday Night Live” cast member, is particularly shrill as the best man who can’t forgive his pal for getting married.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 24, 2026

British artists Ed Sheeran -- another Swift pal -- and Paul McCartney may also go on stage.

From Barron's Jul. 1, 2026

And former pal, model Karlie Kloss, is among those who have reportedly received an invite.

From BBC Jul. 1, 2026

Your pen pal, Amy “The theater,” she whispered, “and the Golden Gate Bridge.”

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

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

Suppose I go ahead on PAL, and snoop round a little.

From The Pirates of Shan by Goodwin, Harold L. (Harold Leland)

“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

A woman pushes her date toward the epicenter with an exasperated hiss: “He’s your pal. Support him!”

From The New Yorker Oct. 24, 2018

“That’s Kinko to you, pal. Only my friends call me Walter.”

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

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 Holinshed, Raphael

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

From Select Poems of Thomas Gray by Carruthers, Robert

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 Lowe, E. A. (Elias Avery)

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 Holinshed, Raphael

Would James return home to Cleveland, return to Miami, possibly join pals Stephen Curry and Draymond Green at Golden State?

From Barron's Jul. 24, 2026

He declined to elaborate on their relationship, but encouraged everyone to kiss their pals, of all genders, with the vigor of an artist who is finally, truly, free.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 22, 2026

She has previously described him, external as "one of my best pals".

From BBC Jul. 4, 2026

That, and the fact that many of the people making these movies and shows rolled 20-sided dice with their pals back in the day.

From Salon Jun. 24, 2026

It ruined my chance to play the game of evading the conductor with my pals.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

The two also palled around with Gene Hackman and James Caan.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 16, 2026

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

In the game, even as they sat at different computers, they palled around, hanging out mostly together, going on virtual quests.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

A magic bottle grants wishes, including palling around with Peyton Manning and Post Malone.

From New York Times Feb. 11, 2024

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

From Seattle Times Jan. 17, 2023

Though he always looked great on a red carpet, you couldn’t imagine him pranking or palling around with his fellow celestials.

From Los Angeles Times May 27, 2022

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

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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