wad

C1 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /wɑːd/ UK /wɒd/ See IPA manual

Freq #16920

Meanings

1

noun
a small, compact mass of soft material, such as cotton, paper, or cloth

The nurse pressed a wad of cotton against the cut.
2

noun
material used as padding, packing, or a plug, especially in a firearm cartridge

A thick wad separated the powder from the shot in the cartridge.
3

noun
informal: a thick bundle of banknotes or a large amount of money

He pulled a wad of notes from his coat pocket.
4

verb
to crush, roll, or pack something into a compact mass

She wadded the rejected sketch into a ball.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small, compact mass of... lump bundle pad

2 noun · material used as padding,... waddingpacking padding

3 noun · informal: a thick bundle of... bundle roll

4 verb · to crush, roll, or pack... crumple pack compress

Opposites

spread unfold

Word family

Forms wadding

Derived forms wadding

Related forms padding packing cartridge

Appears in

Idioms (1)

See all

get your panties in a bunch
Matching variant: get your panties in a wad

become unnecessarily upset or annoyed

Etymology

Probably shortened from Middle English wadmal, 'woollen cloth,' borrowed from Old Norse vadmal, literally 'cloth measure.' Related forms in Germanic languages developed senses of soft padding or a compact mass, from which the modern noun and verb arose.

Topics

Materials & Substances Register & Style

External links

# wad

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /wɑːd/
**IPA (UK):** /wɒd/
**Frequency rank:** 16920

## Meanings
1. a small, compact mass of soft material, such as cotton, paper, or cloth
2. material used as padding, packing, or a plug, especially in a firearm cartridge
3. informal: a thick bundle of banknotes or a large amount of money
4. to crush, roll, or pack something into a compact mass

## Examples
- The nurse pressed a wad of cotton against the cut.
- A thick wad separated the powder from the shot in the cartridge.
- He pulled a wad of notes from his coat pocket.
- She wadded the rejected sketch into a ball.

## Synonyms
- lump
- bundle
- pad
- packing

## Antonyms
- spread
- unfold

## Derived Forms
- wadding

## Related Forms
- padding
- packing
- cartridge

## Etymology
Probably shortened from Middle English wadmal, 'woollen cloth,' borrowed from Old Norse vadmal, literally 'cloth measure.' Related forms in Germanic languages developed senses of soft padding or a compact mass, from which the modern noun and verb arose.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances
- Register & Style

markdown

wad