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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

Example Sentences

Some have waded through turgid Communist Party documents in search of subtle shifts in tone and vocabulary.

From The Wall Street Journal

The remaining wad of bills in the cupholder wouldn’t cover parking at the airport, much less four plane tickets.

From Literature

In addition to the court order, the Dutch state waded into the row, using a Cold War-era law for the first time to effectively seize control of the company.

From Barron's

At twenty feet they both waded into the water, grabbed Nicole under her arms, and dragged her to shore.

From Literature

Jonathan took off his shoes and socks and waded in ankle-deep, curling his toes around the small stones that covered the lake bottom.

From Literature

Related Words

• bundle
• chunk
• clump
• lump
• packet