paddock

noun

pad·​dock ˈpa-dək 

-dik

1

a

: a usually enclosed area used especially for pasturing or exercising animals

led the sheep into the paddock

especially : an enclosure where racehorses are saddled and paraded before a race

b

Australia and New Zealand : an often enclosed field

2

: an area at an automobile racecourse where racing cars are parked

Examples of paddock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Churchill Downs is spending $300 million on improvements to its paddock and grandstand. —Contessa Brewer, CNBC, 31 Dec. 2024

Mark logs his daily activities in his SAE portfolio, which consists of feeding, watering, cutting hay, hauling cattle, raising bottle calves, and planting cover crops for grazing in his paddocks. —Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024

Efforts such as bringing hundreds of middle school children into the paddock on Wednesday for a community day or the free fan festival reflected the shift in approach. —Luke Smith, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024

On the slopes above these pastures are groves of huge, mossy trees, and between the groves, sturdy stone walls climb straight up the fells and carve the mountainsides into great vertical paddocks. —Steven Potter, Outside Online, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of Middle English parrok, from Old English pearroc, from Medieval Latin parricus

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

paddock

noun

pad·​dock ˈpad-ək 

-ik

1

: an enclosed area where animals are put to eat grass or to exercise

2

: an enclosed area where racehorses are saddled and paraded before moving to the racetrack