toad

American  

[tohd] / toʊd /

noun

• toads
  plural

1. any of various tailless amphibians that are close relatives of the frogs in the order Anura and that typically have dry, warty skin and are terrestrial or semiterrestrial in habit.

2. Also called true toad.  a toad of the widespread and chiefly terrestrial family Bufonidae, having relatively short hind legs used in hopping and often having at the shoulders swellings containing glands that, along with the skin, secrete an irritating fluid in defense.

3. any of various toadlike animals, as certain lizards.

4. a person or thing as an object of disgust or aversion.

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toad British  

/ təʊd /

noun

1. any anuran amphibian of the class Bufonidae, such as Bufo bufo ( common toad ) of Europe. They are similar to frogs but are more terrestrial, having a drier warty skin

2. any of various similar amphibians of different families

3. a loathsome person

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• toadishness
  noun
• toadish
  adjective
• toadless
  adjective
• toadlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• toads
  plural

Etymology

Origin of toad

before 1000; Middle English tode, Old English tāde, tādi ( g ) e

Explanation

A toad is an amphibian with dry, bumpy skin and no tail. A common myth says that toads will give you warts, but it's not true. Toads are actually a type of frog. They tend to be short and wide, and to have larger eyeballs than typical frogs. Toads also don't jump as high as other frogs, and they don't need to live near water. The typically bumpy skin of toads is what led them to be associated with warts, and this perceived homeliness has made toad a derogatory term: "You're nothing but a horrible old toad!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

toad toads

Those comparisons helped demonstrate that the La Brea fossils belonged to a distinct species of spadefoot toad rather than to an unusual individual of a known species.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

In Nevada, opponents launched a lawsuit over a gold mine they say will threaten a rare toad and fish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Emily Lindsey, curator and excavation site director at the La Brea Tar Pits’ center, said the discovery of the ice age toad is an example of the ongoing discoveries being made at the museum.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

A three-year-project to help boost sand dune-living rare beetle and toad numbers is to start later this year.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

The horned toad put its scaly hand above the space where Nathan had planted one of Nali’s traditional kernels.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Eastern Japanese toads are typically found in forests, grasslands and other terrestrial habitats across eastern Japan, but they have also proved remarkably adaptable to urban environments.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The miracle behind Cruz’s discovery is that amphibians such as frogs, toads and salamanders rarely make it into the fossil records because of their fragile skeletons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

In hard-hit areas like Le Porge, experts say insects will have perished en masse and larger creatures from toads to lizards will not have been spared either.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

To better understand why some populations recover while others continue to collapse, researchers studied common midwife toads living around four lakes in the Pyrenees of France and Spain that had all experienced severe Bd outbreaks.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

There were squirrels, toads, coyotes, skunks, an otter, crows, boars, and one mammoth-sized porcupine.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• frog