rad
rad Lexical Profile
rad Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Extremely exciting, impressive, or cool (used in informal contexts).
"The skateboarder landed a rad trick on the half-pipe."
• noun
An abbreviation for radian, the standard unit of angular measure.
"Make sure your scientific calculator is set to rad mode before solving the trigonometry problem."
A unit of absorbed dose of ionizing radiation equal to 0.01 gray (100 ergs per gram of irradiated material).
"The dosimeter measured the total exposure in rads before the system was converted to grays."
British A radiator used for heating a room or cooling an engine (used in informal contexts).
"The plumber bled the air from the rad in the upstairs bedroom."
A political radical or person holding extreme progressive or revolutionary views (used in informal contexts).
"During the 1960s, the campus coffeehouse was a popular meeting spot for local rads and activists."
• Rhymes for rad
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
As a slang adjective, 'rad' originated in 1970s California surfer and skateboarder culture as a clipping of 'radical'. As a physics unit, it was coined in the early 20th century from 'radiation absorbed dose'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.