pal
a close friend or buddy
A person who is your good friend; a buddy.
[someone]'s pal; a pal of [someone]
- I’m going to the game with a few pals from work.
- We’ve been pals since we were ten years old.
- She’s my best pal; I tell her everything.
- He met some new pals on his language course.
- My old school pals still meet up every year.
- Tom is my best pal.
- I had many pals when I was a child.
- She is a good pal from my class.
- I went to the park with my pals.
- He made a new pal at work.
informal way to address a man
A casual word you say to a man when talking to him, sometimes friendly, sometimes a bit angry.
'hey, pal'; 'listen, pal'
- Hey, pal, you dropped your wallet.
- Listen, pal, you can’t talk to her like that.
- Easy there, pal, it was just a joke.
- Look, pal, I’m just doing my job.
- All right, pal, that’s enough for today.
- Hey, pal, is this seat free?
- Listen, pal, you are in my place.
- Easy, pal, we have time.
- Look, pal, I can’t help you today.
- Sorry, pal, I don’t have any cash.
to spend time socially as friends
To be with someone a lot in a friendly way and do fun or normal things together.
to pal around (with) [someone]; to pal up with [someone]
- In college he mostly palled around with the drama students.
- She used to pal around with a group of local musicians.
- The kids are always palling around together after school.
- He started palling up with the older boys on the street.
- These days I don’t pal around with my old teammates much.
- He liked to pal around with his cousins.
- We palled around together every weekend.
- At school she palled around with the cool kids.
- He doesn’t pal around with them anymore.
- She palled up with some students from Spain.
- Base: pal
- Plural: pals
- Base: pal
- 3rd Person Singular: pals
- Present Participle: paling
- Past: paled
a pal of mine
1one of my friends
One of my friends; a friend that I know well.
- A pal of mine just moved to Berlin.
- I heard it from a pal of mine who works there.
- A pal of mine can get us cheap tickets.
be pals with
1to be friends with someone
To be friends with someone; to have a friendly relationship with them.
- She’s pals with almost everyone in the office.
- He used to be pals with my brother in high school.
- Are you still pals with your old roommate?
best pal
1closest or favorite friend
Your very closest friend; your number one friend.
- We’ve been best pals since kindergarten.
- My dog is my best pal when I feel sad.
- She’s my best pal, and I trust her completely.
hey, pal
1informal way to get a man’s attention
An informal way to call to a man, sometimes friendly, sometimes a bit angry or rude, depending on your voice.
- Hey, pal, you dropped something.
- Hey, pal, calm down a second.
- Hey, pal, this line starts back there.
old pal
1friend known for a long time
A friend you have known for many years.
- We ran into an old pal from college at the airport.
- He’s an old pal of my dad’s from the army.
- I’m having dinner with an old pal tonight.
pal around (with)
1spend relaxed time with friends
To spend a lot of relaxed, friendly time with someone, usually doing simple or fun things together.
- He used to pal around with a group of skateboarders after school.
- We palled around with our neighbors all summer.
- These days she mostly pals around with people from work.
pal up (with)
1become friendly and start hanging out
To become friends with someone and start spending time together.
- On the first day of camp, he quickly palled up with two boys from his cabin.
- She palled up with a girl from Italy during the exchange program.
- New students often pal up with people from their own country at first.
pen pal
1friend you exchange letters with
A friend who writes letters to you, often living far away.
- I have a pen pal in Japan.
- I had a French pen pal when I was in middle school.
- She met her husband through a pen pal program.
- We met online as pen pals and later visited each other.
- Her class started a pen pal project with a school in Canada.