tad

noun

ˈtad 

1

: a small or insignificant amount or degree : bit

might give him some water and a tad to eat

—C. T. Walker

2

: a small child

especially : boy

Phrases

a tad

: somewhat, rather

looked a tad bigger than me

—Larry Hodgson

Synonyms

• ace
• bit
• crumb
• dab
• dram
• driblet
• glimmer
• hint
• lick
• little
• mite
• nip
• ounce
• particle
• peanuts
• ray
• scintilla
• scruple
• shade
• shadow
• shred
• skosh
• smack
• smell
• smidgen
• smidgeon
• smidgin
• smidge
• snap
• soupçon
• spark
• spatter
• speck
• splash
• spot
• sprinkling
• strain
• streak
• suspicion
• touch
• trace

Examples of tad in a Sentence

there's more than just a tad of hyperbole in the critics' praise for the promising young pianist

grandfather never tires of telling us about the days when he was just a tad

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, watching from our humble blue marble, Elio feels just a tad too familiar in its sights and story beats to seem totally fresh. —Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2025

While Mira remains a tad leery of the dog, the 12-year-old cat is getting along well with her new feline siblings, Max and Milo. —Jen Reeder, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025

This whole hate-watching storyline feels just a tad meta. —Emma Bocchi, Vogue, 6 June 2025

Beware, this gauze is a tad delicate, as Alpert learned the hard way after her cat caused a few snags from their untrimmed claws. —Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 6 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably from English dialect, toad, from Middle English tode — more at toad

First Known Use

circa 1877, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for tad

• ad
• add
• bad
• brad
• cad
• clad
• dad
• fad
• gad
• glad
• grad
• had

Kids Definition

tad

noun

ˈtad 

1

: boy sense 1

2

: bit entry 2 sense 1