noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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General-American:/ˈtædpoʊl/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ædpoʊl
CMU ARPABET:T AE1 D P OW2 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A young toad or frog in its larval stage of development that lives in water, has a tail and no legs, and, like a fish, breathes through gills.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The aquatic larva of any amphibian.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
Examples
salamander tadpole
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A type of cargo bike that has two wheels in front and one in back.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A child's basic drawing of a human being, having a detailed head but only sticks for the body and limbs.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: human-sciences, psychology, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
A small child.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
An insignificant person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, informal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
a larval frog or toad
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: polliwog, pollywog
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: larva
History
Etymology
From Middle English tadpolle, taddepol, equivalent to toad + poll (“head”).
Across languages
Translations
161 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Abkhaz:
алахы́
(alaxə́)
— toad or frog larva
Afrikaans:
paddavis
— toad or frog larva
Afrikaans:
paddavissie
— toad or frog larva
Afrikaans:
kikvors
— toad or frog larva
Albanian:
fulterëz
— toad or frog larva
Arabic:
شُرْغُوف
(šurḡūf)
— toad or frog larva
Armenian:
շերեփուկ
(šerepʻuk)
— toad or frog larva
Asi:
ulong-ulong
— toad or frog larva
Assamese:
লালুকী
(laluki)
— toad or frog larva
Asturian:
renacuayu
— toad or frog larva
Asturian:
rancuayu
— toad or frog larva
Asturian:
ranuecu
— toad or frog larva
Asturian:
cabezón
— toad or frog larva
Avar:
къоркъотӏинчӏ
(qxʼorqxʼotʼinčʼ)
— toad or frog larva
Azerbaijani:
çömçəquyruq
— toad or frog larva
West Coast Bajau:
jejantik
— toad or frog larva
Basque:
zapaburu
— toad or frog larva
Belarusian:
апало́нік
(apalónik)
— toad or frog larva
Bengali:
বেঙাচি
(beṅaci)
— toad or frog larva
Bulgarian:
попова лъжичка
(popova lǎžička)
— toad or frog larva
Burmese:
ဖားလောင်း
(hpa:laung:)
— toad or frog larva
Burmese:
ဖားတစ်ပိုင်းငါးတစ်ပိုင်း
(hpa:tacpuing:nga:tacpuing:)
— toad or frog larva