adjective
Uncommon
rad
rad
Rad (adjective) means Excellent, exciting or impressively cool. Example: “That skate park is rad.”
adjective
1
slang Excellent, exciting or impressively cool.
"That skate park is rad."
"We had a rad time in Lisbon."
noun
1
technical A former unit of absorbed radiation dose, equal to 0.01 gray.
"The old protocol recorded exposure in rads rather than grays."
2
informal, dated A political radical.
"The paper dismissed them as campus rads."
How to use rad
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishReally cool.
When to use it
Slang; fine in casual speech and social posts, out of place in formal writing.
Memory tip
There is no comparative "radder" in standard use — say "even more rad".
Trace the full origin ↓
Common pairings
pretty rad
that's rad
rad as hell
Vocabulary Flow
Build your vocabulary from words like rad.
Vocabulary Flow serves the next word, and the next — meaning, pronunciation and an example each time. Practice at your level, or learn English in your own language.
Start vocabulary practice
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
That skate park is _____.
Etymology
The slang adjective is a shortening of radical. The radiation unit is an acronym of radiation absorbed dose.
Related words
Rhymes for rad
See all rhymes for rad →Frequently asked questions
Is "rad" still used?
Yes, though it carries a distinctly 1980s and skate-culture flavour, and is often used with mild irony by people who did not grow up with it. It remains current in skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding scenes without any irony at all.
What is the difference between a rad and a gray?
Both measure absorbed radiation dose. One gray equals 100 rads, and the gray is the SI unit that has replaced the rad in scientific and most regulatory use, though older American medical literature still uses rads.
Does "rad" mean the same as "radical"?
In slang, yes — rad is simply the clipped form, and both mean excellent. In politics the full word keeps its meaning of fundamental or extreme, which the clipped form does not carry.
What is the meaning of rad?
"rad" (adjective) means excellent, exciting or impressively cool.
