Meaning & use
trad
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nouninformalBritish
Following the old, established style or way of doing things.
Grammar: A casual short form of traditional, placed before a noun: a trad recipe.
Patterns
- a trad something
They played a trad version of the old folk song.
He wore a trad tweed jacket to the wedding.
It's a trad Sunday roast with all the trimmings.
noununcountableinformalmusicBritish
A style of jazz from the early twentieth century, played in a New Orleans manner.
Grammar: Often trad jazz; usually no article.
Patterns
- play trad
The band plays trad every Friday night at the pub.
My grandfather loved trad.
She learned the clarinet to play trad.
noununcountableinformalmusicIrish
Traditional folk music, especially Irish or Scottish music played by ear in sessions.
Grammar: Often heard in a trad session.
Patterns
- a trad session
The pub hosts a trad session every Tuesday.
She grew up playing trad on the fiddle.
We went to Galway for the trad and the sea air.
Common combinations
- trad jazz
- The festival opens with trad jazz.
- trad music
- Trad music filled the little pub.
- trad climbing
- Trad climbing means placing your own protection.
- a trad session
- We joined a trad session in the back room.
- trad approach
- The chef takes a trad approach to pastry.
Synonyms and how they differ
- traditional
- Traditional is the standard form and suits all contexts, unlike casual trad.
- classic
- Classic suggests lasting quality, not just that something follows old custom.
- old-school
- Old-school is informal and stresses holding on to older methods, sometimes with approval.
- conventional
- Conventional means following accepted norms and can sound neutral or mildly dull.
Opposites
Word family
- tradition noun
- a custom handed down over time
- traditional adjective
- following long-established customs
- traditionally adverb
- in the usual, historical way
- traditionalist noun
- someone who supports old ways
- traditionalism noun
- respect for tradition
Commonly confused: trad or trade?
trad vs trade
Trade means buying and selling or a skilled occupation, and is not a short form of traditional.
Practice
A British friend says she prefers trad jazz to modern jazz. What does trad most likely mean here?
Choose one answer.
Trad is informal shorthand for traditional. Trading and trained look similar but do not fit the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “trad”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.