doodad

or do-dad

[ doo-dad ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a decorative embellishment; trinket; bauble:

   a dress covered with doodads.

2. a gadget; device:

   a kitchen full of the latest doodads.

Word History and Origins

Origin of doodad¹

First recorded in 1900–05; gradational compound based on dial. dad piece, flake

Example Sentences

On Sept. 22, hundreds of Pearce students wore mums festooned with ribbons, feathers, teddy bears, cowbells, whistles and various other doodads.

From Seattle Times

He describes all the doodads in his digital workshop as “enchanted objects,” and cites the science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

From New York Times

A merchant or a street performer doesn’t have to buy a special cash register or another pricey doodad to take money that isn’t cash.

From Washington Post

Every year, there are tech doodads and breakthrough inventions that get your attention.

From Washington Post

First you noticed us in the airport, milling around with a baby and what appeared to be roughly 800 bags, all full of various doodads, some of which themselves made annoying sounds.

From Washington Post

More About Doodad

What does doodad mean?

Doodad is a very informal word for an object whose name you don’t know, have forgotten, or can’t recall at the moment.

It’s often used to refer to gadgets or parts of things that might not even have a commonly known name, as in Before we attach the bracket, we have to insert this doodad here. It’s often used with a modifier describing the kind of thing, as in Where’s that plastic doodad?

There are several other similarly informal words that are used in the same way, including the very similar doodah as well as doohickey, dingus, thingy, thingamajig, thingamabob, whachamacallit, and whatsit.

Doodad is also used to mean a trinket, bauble, or some kind of decorative item or part of something.

Example: My kids got me one of those doodads that track your steps. What’s it called? A stepometer?

Where does doodad come from?

The first records of the word doodad come from around 1915. The –dad part of doodad is thought to mean something like “piece.” This may also be how it’s used in the term crawdad.

Today, the word is especially used to refer to small, physical objects, but its ambiguous nature means it can be used for all kinds of things (which is really the point of a word like doodad). Sometimes, it’s used just to be a bit funny, even if you actually know the name of the object you’re referring to.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to doodad?

• do-dad (alternate spelling)

What are some synonyms for doodad?

• doodah
• doohickey
• thingy
• thingamajig
• thingamabob
• what-do-you-call-it
• whaddyacallit
• whatsit
• whatsis
• trinket
• bauble

What are some words that share a root or word element with doodad? 

• doohickey

What are some words that often get used in discussing doodad?

 

• thing
• gadget
• gizmo
• device
• contraption
• object
• item
• forget
• name

How is doodad used in real life?

Doodad is very informal. It’s especially used in speech as a way for the speaker to refer to something whose name they don’t know or can’t remember at that moment.

+1 to the lady at Target who, in a fit of evident exasperation with her grandson’s pleas for some plastic doodad, shot back with “C’mon, it’s like you didn’t even read the statistics about these things!”

— Jasmin Mujanović (@JasminMuj) September 15, 2019

I just used "doodads" in a conversation. As in "…it was one of those doodads that sticks to the wall." Not sure how I feel about this

— Marco Hanna (@PhoneDog_Marco) July 6, 2012

Has anyone else wanted one of those doodads that you fold your shirts with? pic.twitter.com/sMhv7eSzUs

— Emilie Weber (@eweber3651) August 10, 2017

 

Try using doodad!

Is doodad used correctly in the following sentence?

This darn doodad doesn’t even work anymore—can you pick up another one at the store?