tad

¹ American  

[tad] / tæd /

noun

Informal.

1. a small child, especially a boy.

2. a very small amount or degree; bit.

   Please shift your chair a tad to the right. The frosting could use a tad more vanilla.

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Tad ² American  

[tad] / tæd /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Thaddeus or Theodore.

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tad British  

/ tæd /

noun

1. a small boy; lad

2. a small bit or piece

3. a little; rather

   she may be a tad short but she got a top modelling job

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Etymology

Origin of tad

1875–80, tad for def. 1; 1935–40, tad for def. 2; perhaps shortening of tadpole

Example Sentences

Investors might be a tad disappointed by the absence of a special dividend, even if the ordinary dividend was hiked substantially, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal

The company appears to have increased inventories slightly, with sales a tad below output, Hissey says.

From The Wall Street Journal

I’d recognize it anywhere, the way the loop of my g was always just a tad too large.

From Literature

Elsewhere, the headline numbers were a tad disappointing with small misses in its P&C and L&H businesses and net income that was 1% worse than expected, they add.

From The Wall Street Journal

Lee Knight’s “A Friend of Dorothy” may be a tad on the nose about the cultural and emotional impact of a lonely London widow on a closeted teenaged boy.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• babe
• chick
• child
• kid
• toddler
• youngster