padding

Universal Words noun [U] 1 soft material that is placed inside sth to make it more comfortable or to change its shape: The shoes have thick padding at the ankle to offer greater support. * The actor's were made rounder for the part using cotton wool padding. 2 words that are used to make a speech, piece of writing, etc. longer, but that do not contain any interesting information: Some of the quotations are useful, others are little more than padding.