hip pad
- noun
- /hɪp pæd/
- Before the match, he adjusted his hip pads to ensure they fit securely.
Examples
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Have you seen my hip pads?
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The player wore a hip pad to protect himself from injuries during the game.
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Football players often rely on hip pads to cushion their hips during tackles.
How Protective
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a protective pad worn on the hip' is directly and compositionally derived from 'hip' (a body area) + 'pad' (a protective cushioning). This body-part + protective-item pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows ordinary noun compounding, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
The noun hip pad is a literal name: hip is the side of your body and pad is a soft cushion, so the picture is a small cushion worn on the hip. That's why it means 'a protective pad worn on the hip to protect you from hits'.