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

• 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 ( papilla ), Lithuanian pãpas, all from a base *pap- ; akin to pap ¹

Example Sentences

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

Still, making pap smears trauma-free for all patients will require commitment from across the field of gynecology.

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

Distressing experiences like this make it hard for patients like Poree to undergo pap smears later on.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2025

ONE DAY in the summer of 1965, we discovered some fat glistening on our porridge at breakfast and chunks of fresh meat with our pap at supper.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela