padding

[pad-ing] /ˈpæd ɪŋ/
noun
1.
material, as cotton or straw, used to pad something.
2.
something added unnecessarily or dishonestly, as verbiage to a speech or a false charge on an expense account.
3.
the act of a person or thing that pads.
Origin
1820-30; pad1 + -ing1

pad1

[pad] /pæd/
noun
1.
a cushionlike mass of soft material used for comfort, protection, or stuffing.
2.
a soft, stuffed cushion used as a saddle; a padded leather saddle without a tree.
3.
a number of sheets of paper glued or otherwise held together at one edge to form a tablet.
4.
a soft, ink-soaked block of absorbent material for inking a rubber stamp.
5.
Anatomy, Zoology. any fleshy mass of tissue that cushions a weight-bearing part of the body, as on the underside of a paw.
6.
the foot, as of a fox, hare, or wolf.
7.
a piece or fold of gauze or other absorbent material for use as a surgical dressing or a protective covering.
8.
Zoology. a pulvillus, as on the tarsus or foot of an insect.
9.
a lily pad.
10.
Rocketry. launch pad.
11.
Slang.
  1. one's living quarters, as an apartment or room.
  2. one's bed.
  3. a room where people gather to take narcotics; an addicts' den.
12.
Slang.
  1. money paid as a bribe to and shared among police officers, as for ignoring law violations.
  2. a list of police officers receiving such money.
13.
Electricity. a nonadjustable attenuator consisting of a network of fixed resistors.
14.
Shipbuilding.
  1. a metal plate riveted or welded to a surface as a base or attachment for bolts, hooks, eyes, etc.
  2. a piece of wood laid on the back of a deck beam to give the deck surface a desired amount of camber.
15.
Carpentry.
  1. a handle for holding various small, interchangeable saw blades.
  2. Also, pod. a socket in a brace for a bit.
16.
Metallurgy. a raised surface on a casting.
17.
a small deposit of weld metal, as for building up a worn surface.
verb (used with object), padded, padding.
18.
to furnish, protect, fill out, or stuff with a pad or padding.
19.
to expand or add to unnecessarily or dishonestly:
to pad a speech; to pad an expense account.
20.
Metallurgy. to add metal to (a casting) above its required dimensions, to insure the flow of enough metal to all parts.
verb (used without object), padded, padding.
21.
to insure the proper forging of a piece.
Idioms
22.
on the pad, Slang. (of a police officer) receiving a bribe, especially on a regular basis.
Origin
1545-55; orig. special uses of obsolete pad bundle to lie on, perhaps blend of pack1 and bed

pad2

[pad] /pæd/
noun
1.
a dull, muffled sound, as of footsteps on the ground.
2.
a road horse, as distinguished from a hunting or working horse.
3.
a highwayman.
4.
British Dialect. a path, lane, or road.
verb (used with object), padded, padding.
5.
to travel along on foot.
6.
to beat down by treading.
verb (used without object), padded, padding.
7.
to travel on foot; walk.
8.
to walk so that one's footsteps make a dull, muffled sound.
Origin
1545-55; (noun) < Middle Dutch or Low German pad path (orig. argot; hence, apparently, “highwayman” and “horse”); (v.) < Middle Dutch padden to make or follow a path, cognate with Old English pæththan to traverse, derivative of pæth path; defs. 1, 8 perhaps represent an independent expressive word that has been influenced by other senses
Examples from the web for padding
  • They are all constructed on heavy lines with thick padding which becomes water-soaked in the rainy season.
  • Helmets today still use the same basic plastic shell with internal padding that players wore in the post-war period.
  • Words multiply, some modifying and qualifying, others repeating or padding the main argument.
  • Elsewhere there are evidences of padding, staginess, and even pompousness.
  • Much more unusual is the foam padding covering the floor.
  • He says the practice of padding one's ratings is rampant among professors.
  • Females have thick padding on their reproductive tract that's reinforced with strong, elastic connective tissue.
  • Modular detachable bottom padding lets you choose between extra protection and a larger storage area.
  • Operate on multiple continents and specialize in flat- and whitewater padding.
  • There's no padding in the place, no room for error in dealing with the medical establishment.
British Dictionary definitions for padding

padding

/ˈpædɪŋ/
noun
1.
any soft material used to pad clothes, furniture, etc
2.
superfluous material put into a speech or written work to pad it out; waffle
3.
inflated or false entries in a financial account, esp an expense account

pad1

/pæd/
noun
1.
a thick piece of soft material used to make something comfortable, give it shape, or protect it
2.
a guard made of flexible resilient material worn in various sports to protect parts of the body
3.
Also called stamp pad, ink pad. a block of firm absorbent material soaked with ink for transferring to a rubber stamp
4.
Also called notepad, writing pad. a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
5.
a flat piece of stiff material used to back a piece of blotting paper
6.
  1. the fleshy cushion-like underpart of the foot of a cat, dog, etc
  2. any of the parts constituting such a structure
7.
any of various level surfaces or flat-topped structures, such as a launch pad
8.
(entomol) a nontechnical name for pulvillus
9.
the large flat floating leaf of the water lily
10.
(electronics) a resistive attenuator network inserted in the path of a signal to reduce amplitude or to match one circuit to another
11.
(slang) a person's residence
12.
(slang) a bed or bedroom
verb (transitive) pads, padding, padded
13.
to line, stuff, or fill out with soft material, esp in order to protect or give shape to
14.
(often foll by out) to inflate with irrelevant or false information: to pad out a story
Word Origin
C16: origin uncertain; compare Low German pad sole of the foot

pad2

/pæd/
verb pads, padding, padded
1.
(intransitive; often foll by along, up, etc) to walk with a soft or muffled tread
2.
when intr, often foll by around. to travel (a route) on foot, esp at a slow pace; tramp: to pad around the country
noun
3.
a dull soft sound, esp of footsteps
4.
(archaic) short for footpad
5.
(archaic or dialect) a slow-paced horse; nag
6.
(Austral) a path or track: a cattle pad
Word Origin
C16: perhaps from Middle Dutch paden, from padpath
Word Origin and History for padding
n.

"material used in stuffing," 1828, verbal noun from pad (v.2).

pad

n.

1550s, "bundle of straw to lie on," possibly from or related to Low German or obsolete Flemish pad "sole of the foot," which is perhaps from PIE *pent- "to tread, go" (see find (v.)), but cf. path (n.). Meaning "cushion-like part of an animal foot" is from 1790 in English. Generalized sense of "something soft" is from c.1700; the sense of "a number of sheets fastened together" (in writing pad, drawing pad, etc.) is from 1865.

Sense of "takeoff or landing place for a helicopter" is from 1960. The word persisted in underworld slang from early 18c. in the sense "sleeping place," and was popularized again c.1959, originally in beatnik speech (later hippie slang) in its original English sense of "place to sleep temporarily."

v.

"to walk," 1550s, probably from Middle Dutch paden "walk along a path, make a path," from pad, pat "path." Originally criminals' slang, perhaps of imitative origin (sound of feet trudging on a dirt road). Related: Padded; padding.

"to stuff, increase the amount of," 1827, from pad (n.); transferred to expense accounts, etc. from 1913. Related: Padded; padding. Notion of a padded cell in an asylum or prison is from 1862 (padded room).

padding in Medicine

pad (pād)
n.

  1. A soft material forming a cushion, used in applying or relieving pressure on a part, or in filling a depression so that dressings can fit snugly.

  2. A fatty mass of tissue acting as a cushion in the body, such as the fleshy underside of a finger or toe.

Slang definitions & phrases for padding

padding

noun

Text added, often gratuitously and for mere bulk, to an essay, book, speech, etc (1861+)


pad

noun
  1. A bed or place to sleep temporarily; crash pad • Revived and popularized in 1960s: The girl shares her pad with other hippies (1718+)
  2. A room, apartment, etc, where narcotics addicts and users gather to take drugs: There were plenty of pads (1930s+ Narcotics)
  3. One's home; residence: He and I used to live in the same pad for two years (1973+)
  4. A prostitute's working room; crib (1915+ Prostitutes)
  5. An automobile license plate: The job was wearing California pads (1948+)
verb

To increase the amount or length of: He was padding his expense account (1913+)

Related Terms

chinch pad, kick pad, launching pad, on the pad


Related Abbreviations for padding

PAD

  1. packet assembler/disassembler
  2. pressure anomaly detection