tad

«tad» in Mova's school dictionary: A small amount; a little: «a tad of milk» — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a tad)

meaning for a pupil

1) (informal) A small amount; a little: «a tad of milk». tree →

2) (informal) «a tad» + adjective or adverb means «slightly, a little»: «a tad cold». tree →

3) (old, US) A small child, especially a boy. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday talk and lessons on downplaying, «a tad» softens what you say so it sounds polite or modest: «It's a tad expensive» may mean it is very expensive. Related: «a smidge», «a touch», «a bit», «slightly».

examples

• The soup is a tad salty. tree →
• Could you turn the music down a tad? tree →
• I'm a tad nervous about the test. tree →
• «A tad late» said the teacher, when we were twenty minutes late. tree →
• Pass me a tad more sugar, please. tree →
• The jacket is a tad big, but you'll grow into it. tree →

note

Informal; almost always «a tad». It is not an exact amount — in maths problems it gives no number. Often used for understatement (making something sound smaller than it is). Not the same as «tadpole».

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «tad» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.