wad
noun
a small mass, lump, or ball of anything: a wad of tobacco.
wadded
-
past participleof wad.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
-
past tense formof wad.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
wadnouna small mass, lump, or ball of anything: a wad of tobacco.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The crowd was further energized by the presence of longtime Count Basie drummer Jo Jones—sitting near the stage, keeping time with a wadded up Christian Science Monitor newspaper—and even more so by Elaine Anderson.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
“My color man took all the press notes, wadded them up and hit the tarantula like swinging a bat.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026
The director Craig Belknap finds ingenuity in simplicity, as with a dishcloth that, at one point, is wadded up into a basketball then later flattened against the waist into a too-tight dress.
From New York Times ● May 4, 2023
When Nagornyy walked back to his teammates, he wadded up the athletic tape he was wearing into a ball and threw it in frustration.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 28, 2021
I guess Biddy didn’t hear, because she was still smilin’, but I got all wadded up in a worry knot.
From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles
