wadding

American  

[wod-ing] / ˈwɒd ɪŋ /

noun

1. any fibrous or soft material for stuffing, padding, packing, etc., especially carded cotton in specially prepared sheets.

2. material used as wads wad for guns, cartridges, etc.

3. Surgery. any large dressing made of cotton or a similar absorbent material that is used to stanch the flow of blood or dress a wound.

4. a wad or lump.

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wadding British  

/ ˈwɒdɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. any fibrous or soft substance used as padding, stuffing, etc, esp sheets of carded cotton prepared for the purpose

   2. a piece of this

2. material for wads used in cartridges or guns

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Etymology

Origin of wadding

First recorded in 1620–30; wad ¹ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

It is a pastime that requires next-level commitment, though, as Ioan often spends days deep underground at a time, digging passages, or wadding through partially submerged caves.

From BBC • Oct. 14, 2023

Composed of salvaged vintage linen or dupioni silk and stuffed with mattresslike wadding and sometimes pieces of wood for stability, they only look hard; in reality, they’re soft, even slightly yielding.

From New York Times • Sep. 21, 2022

The first idea that sounds good to me is mentally wadding up and throwing away any labels for your emotional self.

From Washington Post • Dec. 11, 2021

There was reportedly no wadding for the blanks.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2021

But no matter what I do, and despite myself, I am pulling on my snowpants, wadding my skirt in between my legs, tugging thick woolen socks on over my shoes, stuffing my feet into boots.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

• bundle
• chunk
• clump
• lump
• packet