(madder, maddest)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
Someone who is mad has a mind that does not work in a normal way, with the result that their behaviour is very strange.
She was afraid of going mad.
= insane
ADJ
• madness
He was driven to the brink of madness.
N-UNCOUNT
2.
You use mad to describe people or things that you think are very foolish.
You'd be mad to work with him again...
Isn't that a rather mad idea?
= crazy
ADJ [disapproval]
• madness
It is political madness.
N-UNCOUNT
3.
If you say that someone is mad, you mean that they are very angry. (INFORMAL)
You're just mad at me because I don't want to go...
ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ at/about n
4.
If you are mad about or mad on something or someone, you like them very much indeed. (INFORMAL)
She's not as mad about sport as I am...
He's mad about you...
He's mad on trains.
ADJ: v-link ADJ about/on n
•
Mad is also a combining form.
...his football-mad son...
He's not power-mad.
COMB in ADJ
5.
Mad behaviour is wild and uncontrolled.
You only have an hour to complete the game so it's a mad dash against the clock...
The audience went mad.
ADJ
• madly
Down in the streets people were waving madly.
ADV: ADV with v
6.
If you say that someone or something drives you mad, you mean that you find them extremely annoying. (INFORMAL)
There are certain things he does that drive me mad...
This itching is driving me mad.
PHRASE: V inflects
7.
If you do something like mad, you do it very energetically or enthusiastically. (INFORMAL)
He was weight training like mad.
PHRASE: PHR after v
8.