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  1. tad love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Informal A small boy.
  2. n. Informal A small amount or degree; a bit.
  3. idiom. a tad To a small degree; somewhat: acting a tad silly; a tad uncomfortable.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A small amount; a little bit.

Etymologies

  1. 1877, ‘young or small child’, probably a shortened form of tadpole. The extended meaning ‘small amount’ is first recorded 1915. (Wiktionary)
  2. Perhaps short for tadpole. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “The other thing that kicks this one up a tad is the major eye candy babe-age with both Musetta Vander as Shan'auc and Vanessa Angel as Anise (and who, exactly, designs a top that leaves the belly button bare?)”

    Stargate SG-1 Watchathon - 'Crossroads' (S04E04)

  • “The more usual use of tad is the sense 'a small amount or degree; a bit ', often used in the adverbial phrase a tad 'a little; slightly'.”

    Archive 2008-11-01

  • “I hope they do Suicide Squeeze, altho they'd hafta tone down the title a tad, considering the economy and all.”

    Here comes 2010 ...

  • “A deity'dev' was also named and installed here and thus the name tad-dev.”

    Archive 2006-09-01

  • “I am not sure tad is allowed to modify risque - or even be in the same sentence - especially when the subject is tango:”

    Tango . . .

  • “Tamer by a tad was the $146,000 Audi R8 -- out of all the cars in the group, this is the one I'd actually buy, a still-super-cool-but-practical daily driver.”

    Forbes: Supercar Driving Tours

  • “They have now reduced it a tad, which is why the 8th district is up for grabs in the house race this year.”

    New Obama Ad Sketches His American Story

  • “In fact, the one thing of the play that bothered me just a tad was the insistence on the ending of tying some loose ends off when I would happily and oddly for me, I've got to say seen them unresolved.”

    Archive 2008-06-01

  • “Pictured on the left sidebar scroll down a tad is the logo of a new sponsor we are particularly proud of here at From On High.”

    From On High

  • “Sometimes she says the bones creak a tad, but she refuses to quit, because she loves helping people.”

    CNN Transcript Jan 28, 2005

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hypernyms (2)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. small indefinite quantity
  1. small indefinite amount

same context (16)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. vicikicch
  2. param
  3. agre
  1. jnanam
  2. Brahma
  3. ânanda
  1. /k/a
  2. anattà
  3. upari
  1. eva
  2. ariyo
  3. Yat
  1. etad
  2. yad
  3. ity
  1. dhammesu

rhymes (32)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. Brad
  2. Chad
  3. Dad
  4. Gad
  5. Mossad
  6. Riyadh
  1. Thad
  2. ad
  3. add
  4. bad
  5. brad
  6. cad
  1. chad
  2. clad
  3. dad
  4. fad
  5. forbad
  6. gad
  1. glad
  2. grad
  3. had
  4. lad
  5. mad
  6. nad
  1. pad
  2. plaid
  3. rad
  4. radde
  5. sad
  6. scad
  1. shad
  2. shadd

reverse dictionary (4)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. tad
  1. toad-pipe
  1. tommy-noddy
  1. t

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Lists

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Comments

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  • ulleskelf I like tad in the "small amount" sense. May 5, 2009

  • bilby
    My mother told me long ago
    (When I was a little tad)
    That when the night went wailing so,
    Somebody had been bad;
    And then, when I was snug in bed,
    Whither I had been sent,
    With the blankets pulled up round my head,
    I'd think of what mother'd said,
    And wonder what boy she meant!
    - Eugene Field, 'The Night Wind'. Nov 3, 2008

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‘tad’ has been looked up 3777 times, added to 18 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 4.