Soft, loose material used to fill a space or to protect something. It has two everyday uses. First, in packing: the soft stuff put around a fragile object in a box so it does not break. Second, in medicine and sewing: the soft cotton material laid on a wound, or put between two layers of cloth to make a quilt or a warm jacket thick and soft. The material itself is usually cotton, wool, or a synthetic fluff. It is an uncountable noun — 'some wadding', 'a piece of wadding', never 'a wadding'. It is a fairly practical, quiet word; you meet it in instructions, in craft shops, and in first-aid books more than in conversation. British speakers use it more; Americans often say 'batting' for the quilt kind and 'padding' or 'packing material' for the box kind.