wad

¹ American  

[wod] / wɒd /

noun

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

   a wad of paper;

   a wad of tobacco.

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

3. a roll of something, especially of bank notes.

4. Informal. a comparatively large stock or quantity of something, especially money.

   He's got a healthy wad salted away.

5. 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.

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

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verb (used with object)

wadded, wadding

1. to form (material) into a wad.

2. to roll tightly (often followed byup ).

   He wadded up his cap and stuck it into his pocket.

3. to hold in place by a wad.

   They rammed and wadded the shot into their muskets.

4. to put a wad into; stuff with a wad.

5. 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)

wadded, wadding

1. to become formed into a wad.

   The damp tissues had wadded in his pocket.

idioms

1. shoot one's wad,

   1. to spend all one's money.

      He shot his wad on a new car.

   2. 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.

   3. Slang: Vulgar. (of a man) to have an orgasm.

wad ² American  

[wod] / wɒd /

noun

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

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wad ¹ British  

/ wɒd /

noun

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

2. 1. a plug of paper, cloth, leather, etc, pressed against a charge to hold it in place in a muzzle-loading cannon

   2. a disc of paper, felt, pasteboard, etc, used to hold in place the powder and shot in a shotgun cartridge

3. a roll or bundle of something, esp of banknotes

4. slang a large quantity, esp of money

5. dialect a bundle of hay or straw

6. slang military a bun

   char and a wad

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verb

1. to form (something) into a wad

2. (tr) to roll into a wad or bundle

3. (tr)

   1. to hold (a charge) in place with a wad

   2. to insert a wad into (a gun)

4. (tr) to pack or stuff with wadding; pad

wad ² British  

/ wɒd /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• unwadded adjective
• wadder noun

Etymology

Origin of wad¹

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English wadde “small bundle of straw used as a pad beneath a horse’s girth to prevent chafing,” from Medieval Latin wadda; further origin uncertain

Origin of wad²

First recorded in 1605–15; origin uncertain

Related Words

• bundle
• chunk
• clump
• lump
• packet