I. pad 1 S3 /pæd/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Perhaps from Low German , 'bottom surface of the foot' ]
1 . SOFT MATERIAL a thick flat object made of cloth or rubber, used to protect or clean something, or to make something more comfortable
pad of
Press on the wound with a large pad of cotton wool.
Use an abrasive pad for stubborn stains.
knee/elbow/shin/shoulder pad (=a pad that you wear to protect a part of your body when you are playing a sport)
2 . PAPER several sheets of paper fastened together, used for writing or drawing
writing/sketch/memo/legal etc pad
a box of paints and a sketch pad
Keep a telephone pad and a pen to hand.
a pad of paper
3 . FLAT GROUND a piece of flat ground where small aircraft can land
launch/landing/helicopter pad
The hospital has built a helicopter pad.
4 . ANIMAL’S FOOT the flesh on the bottom of the foot of a cat, dog etc
5 . APARTMENT old-fashioned informal someone’s apartment or the room where they live
6 . WATER PLANT the leaf of a ↑ water lily
⇨ ↑ launch pad , ↑ helicopter pad
II. pad 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle padded , present participle padding )
[ Sense 1: Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Low German ; Origin: padden 'to go along a path' ]
[ Sense 2-4: Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ pad 1 ]
1 . [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to walk softly and quietly
pad across/through/along etc
The cat came padding silently back to its home.
She padded barefoot down the stairs.
2 . [transitive] ( also pad (something) out British English ) to fill or cover something with a soft material in order to protect it or make it more comfortable
pad something with something
jackets padded out with a soft cotton filling
3 . [transitive] American English to dishonestly make bills more expensive than they should be:
padding the bills of Medicare patients
4 . [transitive] ( also pad (something) out ) to make a speech or piece of writing longer by adding unnecessary words or details:
Don’t pad out your answer to make it seem impressive.
pad with
His autobiography is padded with boring anecdotes.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to walk quietly
▪ tiptoe to walk quietly and carefully on your toes because you do not want to make a noise:
I tiptoed out trying not to wake the baby.
▪ creep to walk quietly and slowly because you do not want anyone to see or hear you:
Stella crept up the stairs, hoping not to wake her parents.
▪ sneak to walk quietly so that no-one notices you, especially because you are doing something you should not do:
They sneaked off without paying.
|
I quickly sneaked out to have a cigarette.
▪ pad to walk quietly without wearing shoes – also used about cats and dogs walking quietly:
Michelle got up and padded barefoot down to the kitchen.
|
The cat padded in, asking for her food.