pap

¹ American  

[pap] / pæp /

noun

1. soft food for infants or invalids, as bread soaked in water or milk.

2. an idea, talk, book, or the like, lacking substance or real value.

   Synonyms:

   twaddle, balderdash, drivel

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pap ² American  

[pap] / pæp /

noun

Chiefly Dialect.

1. a teat; nipple.

2. something resembling a teat or nipple.

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pap ¹ British  

/ pæp /

noun

1. dialect a nipple or teat

2. 1. something resembling a breast or nipple, such as (formerly) one of a pair of rounded hilltops

   2. ( capital as part of a name )

      the Pap of Glencoe

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pap ² British  

/ pæp /

noun

1. any soft or semiliquid food, such as bread softened with milk, esp for babies or invalids; mash

2. porridge made from maize

3. worthless or oversimplified ideas; drivel

   intellectual pap

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pap ³ British  

/ pæp /

verb

1. (of the paparazzi) to follow and photograph (a famous person)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• paplike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pap¹

1400–50; late Middle English; a nursery word akin to Dutch pap, German Pappe, Latin, Italian pappa

Origin of pap²

1150–1200; Middle English pappe; compare dialectal Norwegian, Swedish pappe, Latin papilla ( see papilla), Lithuanian pãpas, all from a base *pap- ; akin to pap ¹

Example Sentences

In 2017, Australia was one of the first countries to transition from a pap smear to a more sensitive HPV-based cervical screening, which is only required every five years.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

Some of them have been feeding on spoon-fed pap by the rich and powerful for so long that — as A.J.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2025

Last year, the U.S. introduced HPV testing, where samples are swabbed from the vaginal wall rather than scraped from the cervix, as a less invasive alternative to the pap smear.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2025

With a clear mammogram, ultrasound and pap smear, Munn’s cancer could’ve been among the estimated 20% that go undetected, according to the National Cancer Institute.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2025

I was eating pap ’n vleis out of the same bowl with George and Florah.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane