lad

¹

[ lad ]

noun

1. a boy or youth.
2. Informal. a familiar or affectionate term of address for a man; chap.
3. British Horseracing Informal. a stable boy.

LAD

²

abbreviation for

, Psycholinguistics.

1. language acquisition device.

lad

/ læd /

noun

1. a boy or young man
2. informal.
   a familiar form of address for any male
3. a lively or dashing man or youth (esp in the phrase a bit of a lad )
4. a young man whose behaviour is characteristic of male adolescents, esp in being rowdy, macho, or immature
5. a boy or man who looks after horses

Other Words From

• laddish adjective
• ladhood noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lad¹

1250–1300; Middle English ladde < ?; compare late Old English Ladda (nickname)

Word History and Origins

Origin of lad¹

C13 ladde; perhaps of Scandinavian origin

Example Sentences

"It looks like our lads, some of them, are a little bit shy of that intensity. Hopefully we're building through this month and we'll see the best of us in the next few games."

From BBC

"It's been a thing now which I have said for a while, I am not a young lad anymore," he added.

From BBC

"The lads laugh now when they see the footage of the games we played in," says West.

From BBC

It is an event in the calendar they have all looked forward to for the past 64 years with some travelling from as far as South Africa to make the monthly "lads' night".

From BBC

"He came in at 15 years old, a really tall, gangly, skinny lad - didn't look like a footballer at all in all honesty," he says.

From BBC

Related Words

• fellow
• schoolboy
• youngster