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

Explanation

A wad is a bundle or lump of something, like the wads of chewing gum you'll find if you look under your chair at school. Yuck! You can also call a wad a bundle, clump, or ball — most office trash cans contain wads of paper, and making a pillow involves stuffing it with wads of cotton or polyester material. Wad is also a verb, like when you wad up a damp hand towel and throw it in the laundry hamper. Etymologists guess that the Old Norse word vað, or "cloth," is the root of wad.

Example Sentences

What active trader hasn’t fantasized about stepping out of their time-traveling DeLorean in October 1929, 1987 or 2007 with a wad of cash?

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

These commitments are important, as they give Kennedy something to wad up and christen his wastebasket with when he steps into his new office.

From Slate • Feb. 8, 2025

Scottie Scheffler did not need another wad of world ranking points to prove what is already abundantly clear - he is by a distance the best golfer in the world.

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2024

Speaking on condition of anonymity because of state laws, they contradict the stereotype of a bookie standing on the corner, scribbling numbers on a notepad and keeping a wad of cash in his pocket.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2024

Stuffed in another pocket were some biscuits, to wad up into dough balls to bait the hooks with, and five pieces of Queenie’s fried chicken in case I got hungry.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Related Words

• bundle
• chunk
• clump
• lump
• packet