wad
/wɒd
/noun
1A mass or lump of a soft material, used for padding, stuffing, or wiping: a wad of lint-free rag...
- She made her way over to the bank of washrooms and ran some cold water over a wad of paper towels.
- I caught the red mixture of blood and peroxide in the cotton wads and wiped it away.
- You see people leaping out of the way as some great wad of canvas comes hurtling towards them.
Synonyms
lump, mass, chunk, hunk, wedge, ball, clump, block, pat, brick, cube, bar, cake, slab, nugget, plug, pad, knob, gobbet, glob, dollop, cluster, nub;
bit, piece, portion, segment
British informal wodge, gob
1.1A portion of tobacco or another narcotic when used for chewing: I made a wad out of the young leaves and twigs and tried to masticate slowly...
- Several-day's growth of beard covered his jaw, which moved and bulged with the wad of tobacco he chewed.
- The army of arthropods slurped bits of organic material out of the muck, then ejected balls of it like so many wads of chewing tobacco.
- He tilts his head back, sucks on his wad of tobacco, and grins at the handful of patrons shooting pool and shooting the breeze with him.
Synonyms
quid, twist, plug, chew
North American informal chaw
rare pigtail, cud, cake
1.2chiefly historical A disc of felt or another material used to keep powder or shot in place in a gun barrel.Consequently, the shot leaves the wad as a tightly controlled column with minimal dispersion....
- We were hoping that it would actually contain shot and a wad and other materials which occasionally happens.
- The tapered walls required the development of a new wad and the semi-hemispherical chamber required the use of slower powders to control pressures.
2A bundle or roll of paper or banknotes: she held up a wad of greenbacks...
- Savage stood and pulled his wallet from his back pocket, throwing a wad of cash on the table.
- She grabbed a wad of papers from the table beside her bed, and threw it at me.
- Well, here I am with a wad of cash in my pocket and no idea what to buy with it.
Synonyms
bundle, roll, bankroll, pile, stack, sheaf, pocketful, load
2.1 informal A large amount of something, especially money: she was working on TV and had wads of money...
- Farmers and miners are protesting that wads of money are being spent on technology when all they really want is some decent irrigation.
- The owners have certainly not been quick to spend wads on new players.
- Most of us don't have a large wad of disposable income left at the end of every month, which means, with the best will in the world, we can't give something to everyone.
3British informal A bun, cake, sandwich, or other piece of food: tea and wads in some church hall
verb (wads, wadding, wadded) [with object] (usually as adjective wadded)
1Compress (a soft material) into a lump or mass: a knob of wadded lint...
- He wadded the stained shirt into a ball and threw it so that it hit Ian in the face.
- Nice of you to wad up all the goodwill you've accumulated and flush it down the toilet.
- Kevin wadded up a sleeping bag to use as a pillow and jammed it under his arm.
2Line or stuff (a garment or piece of furniture) with wadding: a wadded jacket...
- He took it to his bed and then dumped out several wadded garments.
- Thinly wadded and intricately stitched, all-white quilts represent a high point in the development of North Country quilting.
- The Americans travel in convoys, wadded in Kevlar and helmets, guns held ready.
Synonyms
stuff, pad, fill, pack, line;
wrap, cover, encase, cushion, protect
2.1Stop up (an aperture) with a lump of soft material: he had something wadded behind his teeth...
- Ever resourceful, she wadded some toilet paper between it and the door frame and found that it stayed shut.
Origin
Mid 16th century (denoting wadding): perhaps related to Dutch watten, French ouate 'padding, cotton wool'.