pads

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of pad.

   The goalie buckled his leg pads before stepping onto the ice.

   She stuck felt pads beneath the chair legs to keep them from scratching the floor.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs: pads is also the verb form, as in "she pads the chair." As a noun it counts things: cushions to sit or lie on, a padded saddle with no frame, the fleshy undersides of a cat's paws, the tips of the fingers. A determiner or number in front (the pads, two pads) marks the noun reading.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of pad.

   The old tomcat pads softly down the hallway every evening.

   The author pads each chapter with long descriptions to reach the word count.

   Note

   Most uses of this verb take a direct object. A tailor pads a shoulder, a writer pads a report with filler, a dyer pads cloth with a mordant, and in cricket a batter pads the ball away with the leg pad instead of the bat. Even walking can take an object, as when someone pads the road. A singular subject in front (she pads, it pads) separates it from the plural noun.

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