padding

Everyday

1. Soft material used to fill or cover something, to make it comfortable or to protect it. tree →
2. Extra words or material added to make something longer but not better. tree →
3. (computing) Space added around something on a screen or web page. tree →
4. Padding can also mean walking softly and quietly, with light steps. tree →

In the lessons

In safety and sport: protective padding in helmets, shin pads and car seats absorbs the force of a bump. In design and technology: «add padding» to a cushion or soft toy. In English lessons: avoid padding — write what matters. In computing lessons on web pages: «padding» is the space inside a box.

Examples

• The helmet has thick padding inside. tree →
• We stuffed the cushion with padding. tree →
• The padding in my shoe makes it comfy. tree →
• Rugby players wear padding on their shoulders. tree →
• Pack the vase with lots of padding. tree →
• Your story has too much padding; cut the boring parts. tree →
• The cat was padding quietly down the hall. tree →
• And so it happened with a fox, a hare, a boar, and a bear, till each prince had quite a following of young beasts padding along behind him. tree →

Note

Uncountable: «some padding», not «a padding». In science, padding protects because it spreads a force over more time and area, so the bump is softer.