Padded means having extra soft material added for protection, comfort, or shape. Padded bike shorts have cushioning sewn into the seat to make long rides more comfortable. Football players wear padded helmets and shoulder pads to protect themselves from injuries. A padded envelope has a layer of bubble wrap or foam inside to keep fragile items safe during shipping.

The padding itself is the soft material: foam, cotton, bubble wrap, or other cushioning. You might pad a hard chair with a cushion, or pad a package with crumpled newspaper before mailing it. Some winter jackets are heavily padded with insulation to keep you warm.

The word also means to make something artificially longer or larger than it needs to be. A student might pad an essay by adding unnecessary sentences to reach the required word count. A dishonest business owner might pad expenses on a report by including costs that never actually happened. When someone pads their resume, they exaggerate their experience or skills to look more qualified than they really are. This kind of padding is usually considered dishonest because it's meant to mislead.