wad

[ wod ]

/ wɒd /

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See synonyms for: wad / wadded / wadding / wadder on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small mass, lump, or ball of anything: a wad of paper; a wad of tobacco.

a small mass of cotton, wool, or other fibrous or soft material, used for stuffing, padding, packing, etc.

a roll of something, especially of bank notes.

Informal. a comparatively large stock or quantity of something, especially money: He's got a healthy wad salted away.

a plug of cloth, tow, paper, or the like, used to hold the powder or shot, or both, in place in a gun or cartridge.

British Dialect. a bundle, especially a small one, of hay, straw, etc.

verb (used with object), wad·ded, wad·ding.

to form (material) into a wad.

to roll tightly (often followed by up): He wadded up his cap and stuck it into his pocket.

to hold in place by a wad: They rammed and wadded the shot into their muskets.

to put a wad into; stuff with a wad.

to fill out with or as if with wadding; stuff; pad: to wad a quilt; to wad a speech with useless information.

verb (used without object), wad·ded, wad·ding.

to become formed into a wad: The damp tissues had wadded in his pocket.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.

Question 1 of 8

Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?

The Sunflower State

The Evergreen State

The Magnolia State

The Mockingbird State

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for wad

shoot one's wad, Informal.

to spend all one's money: He shot his wad on a new car.
to expend all one's energies or resources at one time: She shot her wad writing her first novel and her second wasn't as good.
Slang: Vulgar. (of a man) to have an orgasm.

Origin of wad

1530–40; <Medieval Latin wadda<Arabic bāṭa'in lining of a garment, batting; compare French ouate,Dutch watte,Swedish vadd

OTHER WORDS FROM wad

wadder, nounun·wad·ded, adjective

Definition for wad (2 of 2)

wad²

[ wod ]

/ wɒd /

noun

a soft, earthy, black to dark-brown mass of manganese oxide minerals.

Origin of wad

First recorded in 1605–15; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for wad

Added to drinking water at concentrations of around one part per million, fluoride ions stick to dental plaque.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
In his view, a writer has only one duty: to be present in his books.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yet this, in the end, is a book from which one emerges sad, gloomy, disenchanted, at least if we agree to take it seriously.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Just the hard-on before you shoot unarmed members of the public.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The fear of violence should not determine what one does or does not say.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Practise gliding in the form of inflection, or slide, from one extreme of pitch to another.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
He alludes to it as one of their evil customs and used by them to produce insensibility.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
There was a rumor that Alessandro and his father had both died; but no one knew anything certainly.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Truth is a torch, but one of enormous size; so that we slink past it in rather a blinking fashion for fear it should burn us.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
Under the one-sixth they appear as slender, highly refractive fibers with double contour and, often, curled or split ends.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for wad (1 of 2)

wad¹

/ (wɒd) /

noun

a small mass or ball of fibrous or soft material, such as cotton wool, used esp for packing or stuffing

a plug of paper, cloth, leather, etc, pressed against a charge to hold it in place in a muzzle-loading cannon
a disc of paper, felt, pasteboard, etc, used to hold in place the powder and shot in a shotgun cartridge

a roll or bundle of something, esp of banknotes

US and Canadian slang a large quantity, esp of money

British dialect a bundle of hay or straw

British military slang a bunchar and a wad

verb wads, wadding or wadded

to form (something) into a wad

(tr) to roll into a wad or bundle

(tr)

to hold (a charge) in place with a wad
to insert a wad into (a gun)

(tr) to pack or stuff with wadding; pad

Derived forms of wad

wadder, noun

Word Origin for wad

C14: from Late Latin wadda; related to German Watte cotton wool

British Dictionary definitions for wad (2 of 2)

wad²

/ (wɒd) /

noun

a soft dark earthy amorphous material consisting of decomposed manganese minerals: occurs in damp marshy areas

Word Origin for wad

C17: of unknown origin

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

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wad

noun

verb (used with object), wad·ded, wad·ding.

verb (used without object), wad·ded, wad·ding.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Idioms for wad

Origin of wad

OTHER WORDS FROM wad

Definition for wad (2 of 2)

noun

Origin of wad

Example sentences from the Web for wad

British Dictionary definitions for wad (1 of 2)

noun

verb wads, wadding or wadded

Derived forms of wad

Word Origin for wad

British Dictionary definitions for wad (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for wad

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

wad

noun

verb (used with object), wad·ded, wad·ding.

verb (used without object), wad·ded, wad·ding.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Idioms for wad

Origin of wad

OTHER WORDS FROM wad

Definition for wad (2 of 2)

noun

Origin of wad

Words related to wad

Example sentences from the Web for wad

British Dictionary definitions for wad (1 of 2)

noun

verb wads, wadding or wadded

Derived forms of wad

Word Origin for wad

British Dictionary definitions for wad (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for wad