padding
/ˈpadɪŋ
/noun [mass noun]
1Soft material such as foam or cloth used to pad or stuff something: cushions supplied extra padding and decoration...
- All wrapped plates are fitted snugly into boxes with plenty of extra padding to make sure the cultures can withstand routine shocks and bumps during handling and transit.
- Door padding is softer and more energy-absorbent.
- Foam padding has been placed at the far end of the track to cushion the blow when students crash into a wall at the end of their sprints.
Synonyms
wadding, cushioning, stuffing, packing, upholstery, filling, filler, lining
1.1Superfluous material in a book, speech, etc., introduced in order to make it reach a desired length: avoid waffle or padding in your essay...
- Halfway through now I'm interested to see where it's going but I feel there's still an awful lot of padding in this book.
- The film version requires substantial padding, as the book only lasts for a few pages.
- On the other hand, Miller's concise strategy is preferable to the approach of padding out the running length.
Synonyms
verbiage, verbosity, verboseness, wordiness, prolixity, prolixness
British informal waffle, wittering, flannel
rare logorrhoea