cad

¹ American  

[kad] / kæd /

noun

1. an ill-bred man, especially one who behaves in a dishonorable or irresponsible way toward women.

   Synonyms:

   heel, rogue, rascal, rotter, bounder

2. British Archaic.

   1. a local town boy or youth, as contrasted with a university or public school student.

   2. a servant at a university or public school.

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CAD ² American  

[kad] / kæd /

noun

1. computer-aided design.

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CAD ¹ British  

acronym

1. computer-aided design

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cad ² British  

/ kæd /

noun

1. informal a man who does not behave in a gentlemanly manner towards others

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Other Word Forms

• caddish adjective

Etymology

Origin of cad

First recorded in 1780–90; short for caddie (in the sense “a person who runs errands and does odd jobs”)

Example Sentences

The novel reads like a wintry elegy to the once proud cad.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

But his career as a humorous cad took off in 1980 when he landed the part of the “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” Franklin Hart Jr. in Colin Higgins’ radical feminist comedy, “9 to 5.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2024

Paul is a bit of cad, and not even entertainingly awful.

From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2024

The underdog here is Mark Ruffalo, whose comic turn as the cad Duncan Wedderburn in "Poor Things."

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2024

"I think you’re a cad," said the King.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White