dad

dad — noun

1. a word for a male parent, used especially when you are speaking to him or talkin

1.nounA1
Definition

a word for a male parent, used especially when you are speaking to him or talking about him in a close, familiar way — for example, when a child calls out to their father or when an adult mentions their own father in conversation

Example

Xiu ran to her dad to show him the picture she drew at school.

possessive + dad for family relationship

Caleb's dad helped him build a birdhouse for the garden last weekend.

dad in everyday family activity context

Common collocations
  • my dad
  • her dad
  • our dad
  • like a dad to
  • dad's advice
  • dad's car
  • dad's birthday
  • stay-at-home dad
  • single dad
Synonyms
  • father

    more formal; used in official contexts, writing, or when the relationship is stated neutrally

  • daddy

    more affectionate or childish; mostly used by young children or in endearing speech

  • papa

    dated or old-fashioned in many English-speaking regions; still used in some families

Antonyms
  • mom

    the female parent in the same informal register

  • mother

    the formal equivalent of 'father'

Grammar Patterns

possessive + dad

dad as direct address (e.g. 'Dad, can you help me?')

Usage Note

Informal register. Use 'dad' within your family or in casual conversation with friends. In formal writing (official documents, academic essays, or professional letters), the word 'father' is preferred. 'Dad' is also common as a direct form of address — people call their father 'Dad' the same way they would use a name.

Common Mistakes

My dad is a father of two boys.
My dad has two boys.
'dad' already means father, so 'is a father of' is repetitive.
I wrote about my dad in my college application essay.
I wrote about my father in my college application essay.
academic or formal writing calls for 'father', not 'dad'.
Idioms

the Bank of Mum and Dad

idiom

Money that parents give to their adult children to help them pay for things.

Maya used the Bank of Mum and Dad to buy her first car.

Did Diego rely on the Bank of Mum and Dad for his university fees?

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to a male parent, but they differ sharply in register and tone. 'Dad' is the everyday, informal word used by children and adults alike in family conversation — it is warm without being childish. 'Father' is the formal counterpart: it belongs in official documents, academic writing, and neutral statements such as 'His father is a teacher.' 'Daddy' is affectionate and noticeably more childish; older children and adults may use it playfully or in intimate speech, but it can sound odd in formal settings. 'Papa' is regionally and generationally marked: common in some British, Indian, and Southern US families but dated or quaint elsewhere. In everyday spoken English, 'dad' is the safest choice for most situations.

dad ↗father ↗daddy ↗papa ↗

Etymology

baby talkEnglish

First recorded in the 1500s as a shortened form of 'daddy', which itself comes from the natural baby-talk sounds 'da' or 'dada' that infants make. These sounds are found in many languages around the world — 'tata' in Latin American Spanish, 'tat' in Welsh, 'baba' in Mandarin — because they are among the easiest consonant-and-vowel combinations for babies to produce.