Definition

1. Noun:

   • A soft cushion or mass of material: A pad is a flat piece of soft material used for protection, comfort, or stuffing.
   • A number of sheets of paper: A pad is a stack of sheets of paper fastened together at one edge.
   • The fleshy underside of a foot or paw: A pad is the soft, cushion-like part on the bottom of an animal's foot or a human's fingertip.
   • A launch platform: A pad is a base from which rockets or spacecraft are launched.
   • Living quarters: (Informal) A pad can refer to a person's home or apartment.

2. Verb:

   • To add soft material: To pad something means to fill, line, or stuff it with soft material for protection, comfort, or shape.
   • To walk heavily: To pad means to walk with quiet, steady steps, often softly.
   • To lengthen dishonestly: To pad something, like a speech or bill, means to add unnecessary details or items to make it seem more substantial.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • She put a knee pad on before skating. (A piece of protective material.)
  • He wrote the number on a note pad. (A stack of paper.)
  • The dog's pad was cut on the glass. (The soft part of an animal's foot.)
  • The rocket stood on the launch pad. (A platform for launching.)
  • He has a cool pad in the city. (An apartment or home.)

• Verb:

  • She decided to pad the shoulders of the jacket. (To add soft material.)
  • The cat padded silently across the room. (To walk softly.)
  • The writer padded the essay with irrelevant quotes. (To add unnecessary content.)

Advanced Usage

• "to pad the bill": To add false or unnecessary charges to an invoice.

  • The contractor was caught trying to pad the bill with extra hours.

• "launch pad": Literally, a platform for launching rockets; figuratively, a starting point for an idea or project.

  • The internship served as a launch pad for her career.

Variants and Related Words

• Padding (n): Soft material used to pad something; unnecessary words or information added to a text.

  • The coat has extra padding for warmth.

• Padded (adj): Filled or lined with soft material.

  • She sat in a padded chair.

• Notepad (n): A pad of paper for writing notes. (This is a compound word listed separately as per instruction).

• Launchpad (n): A platform for launching. (This is a compound word listed separately as per instruction).

Synonyms

• Noun (cushion): Cushion, buffer, mat.
• Verb (stuff): Cushion, stuff, fill.
• Verb (walk): Tread, walk softly.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Pad out: To make something longer or fuller by adding extra, often unnecessary, material or information.
  • He padded out his speech with old anecdotes.

Related Idioms

• On the pad: (Slang) Receiving bribes on a regular basis, especially said of a corrupt police officer.

  • The investigation revealed several officers were on the pad.

• Pad your resume: To add false or exaggerated experiences to a resume.

  • He was advised never to pad his resume.

Noun

1. the fleshy cushion-like underside of an animal's foot or of a human's finger
2. temporary living quarters
3. a platform from which rockets or space craft are launched
4. a flat mass of soft material used for protection, stuffing, or comfort
5. a block of absorbent material saturated with ink; used to transfer ink evenly to a rubber stamp
6. the large floating leaf of an aquatic plant (as the water lily)
7. a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge

Verb

1. add padding to
   • pad the seat of the chair
2. line or stuff with soft material
   • pad a bra
3. walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
   • Mules plodded in a circle around a grindstone
4. add details to