Definition of "gad" in English

interjection

1. An exclamation roughly equivalent to by God, goodness gracious, for goodness' sake.

verb

1. (intransitive) To move from one location to another in an apparently random and frivolous manner.

   • So when he saw King Arthur he said: "Thou knave! Wherefore didst thou quit thy work to go a-gadding?"

2. (of cattle) To run with the tail in the air, bent over the back, usually in an attempt to escape the warble fly.

noun

1. One who roams about idly; a gadabout.

noun

1. (Northern England, Scotland, derogatory) A greedy and/or stupid person.

   • Get over here, ye good-for-nothing gadǃ

noun

1. (especially UK, US, dialect) A goad, a sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc, or one with a whip or thong on the end for the same purpose.

   • Ist yoakes and bowes and gad and yoaksticks there?

2. (UK, US, dialect) A rod or stick, such as a fishing rod or a measuring rod.

3. (especially mining) A pointed metal tool for breaking or chiselling rock.

4. (obsolete) A metal bar.

5. (dated, metallurgy) An indeterminate measure of metal produced by a furnace, sometimes equivalent to a bloom weighing around 100 pounds.

6. A spike on a gauntlet; a gadling.