pad

I noun (C)

1 SOFT MATERIAL something made of or filled with soft material, that is used to protect something or make it more comfortable: She put a sterile pad of cotton over the wound. | a foam rubber pad | knee/elbow/shoulder pad (=a pad sewn into someone's clothes to protect their knee etc or make them look bigger)

2 PAPER several sheets of paper fastened together, used for writing letters, drawing pictures etc: a writing pad

3 ANIMAL'S FOOT the flesh on the bottom of the foot of a cat, dog, etc

4 APARTMENT informal a room or apartment where someone lives: a bachelor pad in Mayfair

5 QUIET SOUND (singular) a soft sound made by someone walking quietly: I heard the pad and squeak of footsteps in the snow.

6 WATER PLANT technical the large floating leaf of some water plants such as the water lily

7 FOR WOMEN a soft material like paper, worn by a woman during her period 1 (4) to take up the blood

8 FOR INK a piece of material that has been made wet with ink and is used for covering a stamp 2 (1) with ink; ink pad

—see also: launch pad, helicopter pad II verb padded, padding

1 (intransitive always + adv/prep) to walk softly and quietly: The boy's dog padded after him.

2 (T) to protect something, shape it, or make it more comfortable by covering or filling it with soft material

3 (T) AmE to dishonestly make bills more expensive than they really are: padding the bills of medicare patients

pad sth out phrasal verb (T) to make a sentence, speech etc longer by adding unnecessary words: The last two chapters are padded out with boring stories.