Definitions
A boy or young man.
How great is that danger, to which poor lads are now exposed, when placed on shipboard to learn the art of sailing! Five lads, training up for the seas, were now on board this ship;
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A familiar term of address for a young man.
I think he reckons he’s a bit of a lad.
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(British) A hedonistic or irresponsible young man; A Jack the lad.
The lad, his son, had obtained a Jew's-harp, and learned to play upon it the profane airs of "Yankee Doodle," "Hail Columbia," "St. Patrick's Day," and "Auld Lang Syne."
Lad means: A hedonistic or irresponsible young man; A Jack the lad.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
lad means: A hedonistic or irresponsible young man; A Jack the lad.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself. A formal-English equivalent (a synonym or descriptive phrase) is usually safer in writing. When in doubt, paraphrase rather than reuse the slang form.
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