pad

/pæd/

/pæd/

Other forms: padded; pads; padding

A pad is a soft cushion or mat that protects or supports something. Football players wear pads to keep their bodies from being injured, and you may sit on a pad to cushion your bottom.

A thick cotton bandage is one kind of pad, and your mattress might be topped by another kind of pad. There's also the soft, cushion-like pad on the bottom of an animal's paws as well as the fleshy part of your own fingertips. There are numerous other pads, including ink pads and helicopter landing pads, and — informally — your cool apartment, or pad. When you pad something, you stuff it, cushion it, or fill it out.

Definitions of pad

1. noun

   a flat mass of soft material used for protection, stuffing, or comfort
   types:

   carpet pad, rug pad, underlay, underlayment

   a pad placed under a carpet

   cleaning pad

   a pad used as a cleaning implement

   mat

   a small pad of material that is used to protect surface from an object placed on it

   mattress

   a large thick pad filled with resilient material and often incorporating coiled springs, used as a bed or part of a bed

   mattress pad

   a protective pad over a mattress to protect it

   panel

   a soft pad placed under a saddle

   plastron

   a large pad worn by a fencer to protect the chest

   potholder

   an insulated pad for holding hot pots

   powderpuff, puff

   a soft spherical object made from fluffy fibers; for applying powder to the skin

   rat

   a pad (usually made of hair) worn as part of a woman's coiffure

   Kotex, sanitary napkin, sanitary towel

   a disposable absorbent pad (trade name Kotex); worn to absorb menstrual flow

   hot pad, table mat

   a pad for use under a hot dish to protect a table

   skin patch, transdermal patch

   a medicated adhesive pad placed on the skin for absorption of a time released dose of medication into the bloodstream

   air mattress

   a mattress that can be stored flat and inflated for use

   drip mat

   a small mat placed under a glass to protect a surface from condensation

   estradiol patch

   a transdermal patch that allows estradiol to be absorbed into the blood stream; used in treating estrogen deficiency and in hormone replacement therapy

   feather bed, featherbed

   a mattress stuffed with feathers

   futon

   mattress consisting of a pad of cotton batting that is used for sleeping on the floor or on a raised frame

   mouse mat, mousepad

   a small portable pad that provides traction for the ball of a computer mouse

   paillasse, palliasse

   mattress consisting of a thin pad filled with straw or sawdust

   pallet

   a mattress filled with straw or a pad made of quilts; used as a bed

   place mat

   a mat serving as table linen for an individual place setting

   scouring pad

   a small abrasive cleaning pad used for scouring pots and pans

   soap pad

   a cleaning pad containing soap

   spring mattress

   a mattress containing springs in a rigid frame

   tick

   a light mattress

   underfelt

   a carpet pad of thick felt

   type of:

   cushioning, padding

   artifact consisting of soft or resilient material used to fill or give shape or protect or add comfort
2. noun

   the fleshy cushion-like underside of an animal's foot or of a human's finger
   type of:

   anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure

   a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing
3. noun

   a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
   synonyms: pad of paper, tablet

   types:

   message pad, writing pad

   a pad of paper on which messages can be written

   notepad

   a pad of paper for keeping notes

   scratch pad, scratch paper, scribbling block

   pad for preliminary or hasty writing or notes or sketches etc

   type of:

   paper

   a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
4. noun

   a block of absorbent material saturated with ink; used to transfer ink evenly to a rubber stamp
   synonyms: inking pad, inkpad, stamp pad

   type of:

   block

   a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
5. verb

   add padding to
   “pad the seat of the chair”

   synonyms: bolster

   type of:

   fill, fill up, make full

   make full, also in a metaphorical sense
6. verb

   line or stuff with soft material
   synonyms: fill out

   types:

   rat

   give (hair) the appearance of being fuller by using a rat

   type of:

   stuff

   cram into a cavity
7. verb

   add details to
   synonyms: aggrandise, aggrandize, blow up, dramatise, dramatize, embellish, embroider, lard

   types:

   glorify

   cause to seem more splendid

   type of:

   amplify, exaggerate, hyperbolise, hyperbolize, magnify, overdraw, overstate

   to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth
8. verb

   walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
   synonyms: footslog, plod, slog, tramp, trudge

   types:

   slop, slosh, splash, splosh, squelch, squish

   walk through mud or mire

   type of:

   walk

   use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
9. noun

   a platform from which rockets or space craft are launched
   synonyms: launch area, launch pad, launching pad, launchpad

   type of:

   platform

   a raised horizontal surface
10. noun

    temporary living quarters
    synonyms: diggings, digs, domiciliation, lodgings

    type of:

    living quarters, quarters

    housing available for people to live in
11. noun

    the large floating leaf of an aquatic plant (as the water lily)
    types:

    lily pad

    floating leaves of a water lily

    type of:

    foliage, leaf, leafage

    the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants