Toad Meaning
/toʊd/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn amphibian, a kind of frog (order Anura) with shorter hindlegs and a drier, wartier skin, many in family Bufonidae.
nounA contemptible or unpleasant person.
Sentence Examples
I can't distinguish a frog from a toad.
I cannot distinguish a frog from a toad.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
A warty brown ____ hopped across the wet garden path at night.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A large brown ____ was spotted hopping slowly through the damp grass near the edge of the pond today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English tode, toode, tadde, tade, from Old English *tāde, a shortened variant of Old English tādie, tādiġe (“toad”). Cognate with Scots tade, taid, taed, ted (“toad”). Compare also Danish tudse (“toad”), possibly originally from the same prehistoric root; also Swedish tåssa, tossa (“toad”), Old English tāxe (“toad”), Old English tosca (“toad”) by contrast.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Shortly he heard the trolls coming. They had a fiddler with them, and some began dancing, while others fell to eating the Christmas fare on the table - some fried bacon, and some fried frogs and toads, and other nasty things which they had brought with them."
— 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 149:
"1971, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger & John Densmore, "Riders on the Storm", The Doors, L.A. Woman.
There's a killer on the road / His brain is squirmin' like a toad"
—
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
A warty brown ____ hopped across the wet garden path at night.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A large brown ____ was spotted hopping slowly through the damp grass near the edge of the pond today.