brad
/bɹæd/noun, verb
brad is spelled B-R-A-D: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,878th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, brad means “A thin, small nail, with a slight projection at the top on one side instead of a head, or occasionally with a small domed head, similar to that of an…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of brad is brads.
How many letters and syllables are in brad?
| Letters | 4: B-R-A-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,878th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is brad?
Brad appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,878th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce brad?
- UK /bɹad/
- US /bɹæd/
Brad has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-brad.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Brad.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with brad?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as brad from its last stressed vowel (/æd/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: bard, drab, darb.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of brad
- brads plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- bradding participle, present
- bradded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does brad mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A thin, small nail, with a slight projection at the top on one side instead of a head, or occasionally with a small domed head, similar to that of an escutcheon pin.
- 2
USA paper fastener, a fastening device formed of thin, soft metal, such as shim brass, with a round head and a flat, split shank, which is spread after insertion in a hole in a stack of pages, in much the same way as a cotter pin or a split rivet.
- 3
A binary radian.
verb
- 1
To attach using a brad.
- 2
To upset the end of a rod inserted in a hole so as to prevent it from being pulled out, as when riveting.
noun
- 1
Synonym of Chadlite (“a man of a slightly lower ranking on a scale of physical attractiveness than Chad”)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does brad come from?
Late Middle English brad, variant of brod(d), from Old Norse broddr (“spike, shaft”), from Proto-Germanic *bruzdaz (compare Old English brord, Old High German brort), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrusdʰos (compare Welsh brath (“sting, prick”), Albanian bredh (“fir-tree”), Lithuanian bruzdùklis (“bridle”), Czech brzda (“brake”). Doublet of prod.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).