padding

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of pad

plural paddings

1. countableuncountableSoft filling material used in cushions etc.
2. countableuncountablecomputingExtra characters such as spaces added to a record to fill it out to a fixed length.
3. countableuncountablecomputingExtraneous text added to a message for the purpose of concealing its beginning, ending, or length.
4. countableuncountableAnything of little value used to fill up space.

   That magazine is mostly advertisements; the rest is padding.

   1 more example

   But to my intense surprise, on getting down early the next morning, and eagerly opening the newspapers, there was not a word about the arrest! There was a column of mere padding about “The Styles Poisoning Case,” but nothing further. It was rather inexplicable, but I supposed that, for some reason or other, Japp wished to keep it out of the papers.

   1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 135

5. countableuncountableThe process of mordanting a fabric.
6. countableuncountableA diaper.

   Synonyms: diap, diapee, diapy, diapie, didee, didie, diddy, didy

7. countableobsoleteuncountableRobbing on a highway.