pal1 nounpal2 verb
palpal1 /pæl/ noun [countable] 
WORD ORIGINpal1
Origin:
1600-1700 Romany phral, phal ‘brother, friend’, from Sanskrit bhratr ‘brother’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Listen, pal, I know what I'm talking about, okay?
- Nicholas was a pal of William's at school.
- Thanks for helping us out, Frankie. You're a real pal.
- They'd been pals since childhood.
- But his 11-year-old pal panicked because he was frightened of getting into trouble, it was revealed yesterday.
- Da Lench Mob are Ice Cube's pals.
- Eddie turned out to be a pretty absent-minded pal of the road.
- Oh, but pal - you're wrong.
- The mystery pal held Sporty Spice's hand in a show of support as they left London's Kabaret club.
- Were all his posse pals going to diss him once word got out?
THESAURUS
someone who you know and like very much and enjoy spending time with: · Dad, this is my friend Steve.· She’s going to Palm Springs with some friends.· I got a letter from a friend from college.· Amy’s a close friend of mine.· John was a really good friend to me when I had all those problems last year.
someone who you know and see sometimes, but who is not one of your close friends: · We borrowed the money from one of Paul’s business acquaintances.
British English informal a friend – used especially about boys or men: · He always goes to the pub with his mates on Friday night.· Terry’s an old mate of mine.
American English informal a friend – used especially about men or young people: · He’s out playing basketball with some of his high school buddies.
informal a friend – pal sounds rather old-fashioned: · They met at school and have remained close pals.
[usually plural] disapproving a friend – used about powerful people who will help each other even if it is slightly dishonest: · He’s one of the president’s cronies.
written someone who spends time with you, doing the same things as you – used about animals as well as people: · travelling companions· His dog was his constant companion.· the perfect companion
informal a woman’s female friends: · We’re having a girls’ night out.
British English informal a man’s male friends: · a night out with the lads
Longman Language Activatora friend · Dad, this is my friend Steve.· She's going to Palm Springs with some friends.· I got a letter from a friend from college.friend of mine · I'm going out for a drink with a friend of mine tonight.be a good friend to somebody (=to be someone's friend and help them a lot when they have problems) · John was a really good friend to me when I had all those problems last year.
British informal a friend - use this especially about boys or men: · He always goes to the pub with his mates on Friday night.mate of mine: · Terry's an old mate of mine.
American informal a friend - use this especially about men or young people: · He's one of Mike's buddies.army/high school/war etc buddy (=a friend that you met in the army, high school etc): · He's out playing basketball with some of his high school buddies.
informal a friend. Pal is slightly more old-fashioned than mate or buddy: · Nicholas was a pal of William's at school.· Thanks for helping us out, Frankie. You're a real pal.
someone that you know and sometimes see, but who is not one of your close friends: · She's just an acquaintance - I sometimes see her at aerobics.· I don't want to talk about religion with business acquaintances.
someone who is not really your friend, but is someone one of your friends knows: · I got the tickets through a friend of a friend who works in the theatre.· No I don't know him personally, he's a friend of a friend.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
an old pal (=a friend you have had for a long time)COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
an old pal (=a friend you have had for a long time)· Buster is a rabbit, and good pal.· Chloe's best pal had died from cancer earlier that year.· Where's my best pal Scorelord?· He was my best pal and he died aged forty-six.· Stick to what you're good at, pal.· Diana's three best pals are the women who shared her bachelor-girl pad in in Knightsbridge before she was married.· First he slapped Lisa then had hot turkey love with her best pal.
· He's not keen to join another Aussie club and face having to play against his old Penrith pals.· An old Bridgeport pal with no qualifications had been put in charge of the community conservation program.· Hey Matt, old pal, old buddy, this stuff got stolen from us, it was moving, interstate commerce.· Who really stands to lose from the hydrogen engine, old pal?· There certainly was an old pal to visit, but General Kent did not choose to discuss it.· See you again, old pal.
NOUN· Benny and Garry were bosom pals once again.· It is an open secret that he and Reg Pybus are bosom pals.· The first was affection of the kind that binds families together, or bosom pals.
· Translating email pen pals into the real world of human contact, or even romance, is another matter.· Craig and Johnson met the way practically anyone meets an inmate: They became pen pals.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1informal a close friend: - Benny and Garry were bosom pals once again.
- He was still my friend, my bosom friend.
- It is an open secret that he and Reg Pybus are bosom pals.
- It is now that man contemplates, for it is now that the sea is a bosom friend.
- Queequeg says they are now married-meaning they are bosom friends who would defend each other to the death.
- The first was affection of the kind that binds families together, or bosom pals.
- There was less arguing after that, but the two actors never became bosom buddies and never worked together again.
We’ve been pals since we were at school. an old pal (=a friend you have had for a long time)► see thesaurus at friend2spoken used to speak to a man in an unfriendly way: Look, pal, I don’t want you hanging around.pal1 nounpal2 verb
palpal2 verb (past tense and past participle palled, present participle palling) pal around phrasal verb American English if you pal around with someone, you do things together as friendspal around with It was nice having someone to pal around with.pal up phrasal verb British English to become someone’s friendpal up with She palled up with Neil while travelling round Europe.