See Also:

wad(1) (iou)



wad noun1 & verb1. M16.
[Obscurely rel. to Dutch watten (whence German Watte), French ouate, Italian ovatta padding, cotton wool, Spanish bata dressing-gown.]
A. noun.
A material composed of matted fibres used for padding; wadding. obsolete exc. Scot. M16.
A bundle of hay or straw; esp. a small bundle of hay, peas, beans, etc., made at the time of cutting or reaping; a portion of a sheaf. Now dial. L16.
b. A heap. Also, a swath. dial. M18.
A small lump or compact bundle of soft, loose, or pliable material used esp. as a plug, as a pad, or to keep things apart. L16.
oily wad: see OILY adjective.
P. Lively She went round..stuffing wads of torn-up sheets against the worst leaks. fig.: T. C. Boyle Something rose in her throat, a deep wad of..regret.
b. A disc or plug of paper, cloth, etc., retaining the powder and shot in position in a gun or cartridge. M17.
shoot one's wad colloq. (chiefly US) do all that one can do.
c. A thing rolled up tightly, as a roll of banknotes. L18.
N. Demille A briefcase stuffed with wads of money.
A large quantity, esp. of money; a mass, a heap. Orig. Scot. & north. E19.
A. Cooke Eggs and bacon and a wad of pancakes.
Ceramics. A small piece of clay either placed on the rim of a saggar as a wedge, or to separate boxed pots etc. E19.
A bun, a cake; a sandwich. Also gen., something to eat. slang. E20.
Alan Bennett Picking old men off bomb sites and feeding them tea and wads in some..church hall.
Comb.: wadcutter (chiefly US) a bullet designed to cut a neat hole in a paper range target; wad hook a spiral tool for withdrawing a wad or charge from a gun.
b. verb trans. Infl. -dd-.
Put a wad in (a gun, a cartridge); plug (an aperture) with a wad. Also foll. by up. L16.
W. Owen You had best wad up your ears if swearing upsets them.
Press (loose, soft, or fibrous material) into a small space; form into a wad; US roll up tightly. Also foll. by up. M17.
G. Vidal The T-shirt was wadded up. E. Bowen She drew some shreds of Kleenex out..and wadded them together. New Yorker He wads his damp clothes into the..dryer.
Lay up (cut peas, beans, etc.) in bundles. Now dial. L17.
Line, stuff, or pad (as) with wadding; protect (a person, walls, etc.) with wadding. M18.
M. McCarthy His royal-purple wadded dressing-gown.
wadder noun (rare) (a) an implement for wadding a gun; (b) dial. a person who wads peas, beans, etc.: L16.