pad
pad
/pæd/
of soft material
1 a thick piece of soft material that is used, for example, for cleaning or protecting something or for holding liquid
medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin
sanitary pads (= that a woman uses during her period)
Collocations
adjective
of paper
2 a number of pieces of paper for writing or drawing on, that are fastened together at one edge
a sketch/writing pad
She always kept a pad and pencil by the phone.
She doodled on a pad as she spoke.
Collocations
adjective
preposition
on a/the pad
of animal’s foot
3 the soft part under the foot of a cat, dog, etc.
A cat detects vibrations through the pads of its feet.
for cleaning
4 a small piece of rough material used for cleaning pans, surfaces, etc.
a scouring pad
for spacecraft/helicopter
5 a flat surface where a spacecraft or a helicopter takes off and lands
helicopter landing pads
Two booster rockets will power the shuttle off the pad.
SEE ALSO helipad, launch pad
for protection
6 usually plural a piece of thick material that you wear in some sports, for example football and cricket, to protect parts of your body knee pads
SEE ALSO shin pad, shoulder pad
of water plants
7 the large flat leaf of some water plants, especially the water lily
floating lily pads
flat/apartment
8 usually singular (informal) the place where somebody lives, especially a flat He moved back into his old bachelor pad.
Word Origin
noun mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘bundle of straw to lie on’): the senses may not be of common origin; the meaning ‘underpart of an animal's foot’ is perhaps related to Low German pad ‘sole of the foot’; the history remains obscure.