pad down

present singular third person pads down · participle present padding down · participle past padded down · past padded down

1. informalintransitiveTo spend the night somewhere.

   Since you stay in the main lodge, it's easy to pad down at all hours to a cozy stay before the fireplace, or farther down the hall to the small Gothic-style chapel.

   2001, Jean Torkelson, Colorado's Sanctuaries, Retreats, and Sacred Places, →ISBN

2. transitiveTo frisk, pat down

   His hands padded down the bag almost violently, searching for some trace of what the tarp must certainly be hiding, but found all he had was the tarp.

   2010, Christopher O'Bryant, 320 Down, →ISBN, page 238

3. transitivebusinessTo reduce a signal.

   Amateur radio W40AB has come up with a slick gadget to pad down the gain of high output converters.

   1962, CQ: The Radio Amateurs' Journal - Volume 18, Issue 2, page 61

   2 more examples

   If the bass has active electronics, you may have to pad down (reduce) the signal to avoid distortion.

   1996, Peter McIan, Using Your Portable Studio, →ISBN, page 154

   You can build these inline into those Switchcraft XLR barrel plugs if you need to pad down signals.

   2010, Larry Crane, Tape Op: The Book about Creative Music Recording, →ISBN