toad
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.: Compare frog1 (def. 1).
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.: Compare frog1 (def. 2).
any of various toadlike animals, as certain lizards.
a person or thing as an object of disgust or aversion.
Origin of toad
1Other words from toad
- toadish, toadlike, adjective
- toad·ish·ness, noun
- toadless, adjective
Words that may be confused with toad
- frog, toad
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use toad in a sentence
Some follow common folkloric themes: thieves are monkeys, liars are toads, and the corrupt are pigs.
A dish of toads of the largest and most repulsive variety used to be offered one by one to the big man's relatives and guests.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsShe dropped on her knees and examined the toads carefully, while they tried to burrow into the soil backward, to escape the sun.
The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard EatonThe toads, frogs, and other creatures of this kind, are also very large in America.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de BuffonAt the beginning of the shower tree-toads began to call, and many kinds of birds sounded notes that were unfamiliar.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthur
Don Pajarito is telling me of los Alemanos all over the world;––souls they have not, and serpents and toads are their mothers!
The Treasure Trail | Marah Ellis Ryan
British Dictionary definitions for toad
/ (təʊd) /
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: Related adjective: batrachian
any of various similar amphibians of different families
a loathsome person
Origin of toad
1Derived forms of toad
- toadish or toadlike, adjective
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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