Word.ws English Dictionary

on the pad

on the pad phrase: taking regular bribes.

Phrase (1)

on the pad

  1. (slang) Taking regular bribes.
    • The badge showed that he was on the inspector's pad and the telephone numbers suggested that he had connections.1978, Burgess Laughlin, Job Opportunities in the Black Market, page 5
    • New York City police officers "on the pad" were found to receive up to $850 a month to protect a single dealer.2002, Samuel Walker, Charles M. Katz, The Police in America: An Introduction, page 325

Phrase (2)

on the pad

  1. (archaic, slang) Practicing highway robbery; robbing travelers on the public roads.
    • . I crown thy nab with a gage of bene-bowse, And stall thee by the salmon into the clowes; To maund on the pad, and strike all the cheats,1622, John Fletcher, Beggar's Bush
    • I go on the pad.1788, John O'Keeffe, The Prisoner at Large

Examples of on the pad in a sentence

  • But I swear to you, Dave, I never got any free action because of my badge, and I never went on the pad.2011, James Lee Burke, A Dave Robicheaux Ebook Boxed Set:
  • As for why I went on the pad, 'tis simple: I was poor as a church mouse.1986, Maggie Mackeever, Lady Sherry and the Highwayman, page 218:

Forms of on the pad

alternative formupon the pad

Origin of on the pad

As a reference to padding one's income.

From the sense of "to pad" meaning to practice highway robbery.

Questions about on the pad

What does on the pad mean?
On the pad means taking regular bribes.
How do you use on the pad in a sentence?
But I swear to you, Dave, I never got any free action because of my badge, and I never went on the pad.
What part of speech is on the pad?
On the pad is a phrase.

Words near on the pad in the dictionary

  1. on the outlook
  2. on the outs
  3. on the outside
  4. on the outside looking in
  5. on the outside, looking in
  6. on the pad
  7. on the panel
  8. on the part of
  9. on the pat and mick
  10. on the pdq
  11. on the phone

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: on the pad (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “on the pad.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/on_the_pad. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.