pal

1 of 2

noun

ˈpal How to pronounce pal (audio)
Synonyms of palnext
: a close friend
palship
ˈpal-ˌship How to pronounce pal (audio)
noun

pal

2 of 2

verb

palled; palling

intransitive verb

: to be or become pals : associate as pals
they've palled around for years

Synonyms of pal

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Noun

Verb

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Examples of pal in a Sentence

Noun We've been pals since we were kids. Come on—be a pal and lend me the money. Verb they began to pal around after discovering that they both had kids on the same soccer team
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Still, Mathers eventually recruited his old onscreen pal to join the cast of Still the Beaver and appear in several episodes of The New Leave it to Beaver. — Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, Spider-Man is struggling with his mutating powers — and the fact that his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) are making memories at MIT with zero recollection of their former pal. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 2 Aug. 2026 Steven Keliikuli, a former football player and west side pal of Brun’s, dealt for him, and sometimes let the council member crash at his house. — Guthrie Scrimgeour, Rolling Stone, 2 Aug. 2026 Capitalizing on the daily news stories of Gemini missions and Apollo moon-walking dreams, this spacefaring fellow and his astronaut pals let kids everywhere imagine colorful cosmic adventures. — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 1 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pal

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Romani phral, phal brother, friend, from Sanskrit bhrātṛ brother; akin to Old English brōthor brother

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1886, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1875, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pal was in 1875

Phrases Containing pal

Rhymes for pal

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Browse Nearby Words

paktong
pal
pala
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Cite this Entry

“Pal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pal. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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Kids Definition

pal

1 of 2 noun
ˈpal How to pronounce pal (audio)
: a close friend

pal

2 of 2 verb
palled; palling
: to be or become pals

Legal Definition

PAL

abbreviation
passive activity loss

More from Merriam-Webster on pal

Nglish: Translation of pal for Spanish Speakers

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