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• chad
  chad

  noun

  a small paper disk or square formed when a hole is punched in a punch card or paper tape.
• Chad
  Chad

  noun

  Lake Chad, a lake in Africa at the junction of four countries: Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. 5,000 to 10,000 sq. mi. (13,000 to 26,000 sq. km) (seasonal variation).

SEE ALSO:

Slang dictionary results for Chad.

chad

¹ American  

[chad] / tʃæd /

noun

Computers.

• chads
  plural

1. a small paper disk or square formed when a hole is punched in a punch card or paper tape.

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Chad ² American  

[chad] / tʃæd /

noun

1. Lake Chad, a lake in Africa at the junction of four countries: Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. 5,000 to 10,000 sq. mi. (13,000 to 26,000 sq. km) (seasonal variation).

2. Official Name Republic of Chad. a republic in northern central Africa, east of Lake Chad. 501,000 sq. mi. (1,297,590 sq. km). N'Djamena.

3. Chadic.

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Chad ³ American  

[chad] / tʃæd /

noun

1. a male given name.

2. Slang: Sometimes Disparaging. Sometimes chad a confident, successful, athletic man who is attractive to women, sometimes one who is perceived as hypermasculine, arrogant, or shallow.

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Chad ¹ British  

/ tʃæd /

noun

1. French name: Tchad. a republic in N central Africa: made a territory of French Equatorial Africa in 1910; became independent in 1960; contains much desert and the Tibesti Mountains, with Lake Chad in the west; produces chiefly cotton and livestock; suffered intermittent civil war from 1963 and prolonged drought. Official languages: Arabic; French. Religion: Muslim majority, also Christian and animist. Currency: franc. Capital: Ndjamena. Pop: 11 193 452 (2013 est). Area: 1 284 000 sq km (495 750 sq miles)

2. a lake in N central Africa: fed chiefly by the Shari River, it has no apparent outlet. Area: at fullest extent 10 000 to 26 000 sq km (4000 to 10 000 sq miles), varying seasonally; it has shrunk considerably in recent years

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chad ² British  

/ tʃæd /

noun

1. the small pieces of cardboard or paper removed during the punching of holes in computer printer paper, paper tape, etc

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Chad Cultural  

1. Landlocked desert republic in north-central Africa, bordered by Sudan to the east; the Central African Republic to the south; Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria to the west; and Libya to the north. N'Djamena is its capital and largest city.

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Discover More

Chad was under French control until 1960.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chads
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of chad¹

First recorded in 1930–35; origin uncertain

Origin of Chad³

First recorded in 2010–15, Chad ² for def. 2

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Explanation

The small circle of paper that falls on the floor after you use a hole punch is called a chad. Some voting machines work by punching holes in ballots, leaving a chad hanging from the back. The chad that falls off a card or piece of paper is a waste product of hole punching, often in the process of voting or punching a time card. The word chad was first used in the 1930s, but most Americans never heard it until the 2000 presidential election, when some votes in Florida were contested because of partially-punched ballots with chads still attached.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chad Chad chads

“For example,” he continued, “manual counters are forced to determine whether a pinprick point on a chad demonstrated an intent to register a vote.”

From New York Times ● May 5, 2023

So, for example, counters in Miami-Dade County might deem a particular hanging chad a vote for president while counters in Palm Beach County might not.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2020

In 2002, after the so-called hanging chad scandal of the 2000 Presidential election, federal funds helped spread the use of electronic voting machines that are still in use today.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 5, 2018

Hanging chad: A chad is the small piece of waste paper or card created when a hole is punched in a ballot.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2016

Chould make shift good enough and chad a candle's end; The chief hole in my breech with these two chill amend.

From Gammer Gurton's Needle by Mr. S. Mr. of Art

Chad Lowe, the Emmy-winning star of “Life Goes On,” and his family announced Fiona’s death in a statement shared with People on Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

“I told him, Chad, you can’t keep attacking people,” Twining said in his City Hall office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Emmy winner Chad Lowe and his family are mourning the loss of Fiona, the second daughter the “Life Goes On” actor shares with wife Kim Painter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

The firm is led by Chief Executive Chad Abraham and reported roughly $1.9 billion in revenue last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

This was N. A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility, known as Chad, home to some two hundred and thirty males ages eighteen to twenty-five.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

It was where Senga Nengudi debuted her sculptures of stretched-out pantyhose weighted with sand, and where Howardena Pindell first showed her abstract “dot” paintings, composed of paper chads.

From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2022

While the country won’t have to worry about hanging or pregnant chads in this election, it’s likely that Americans will go to bed Tuesday night without knowing who the next president will be.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 2, 2020

It’s also a lively film that resurrects 2000 not just via hanging chads but by following the cultural atmosphere.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2020

Unlike in South Florida, where punchcard ballots led to the much-maligned hanging chads, Volusia County used optical scan ballots.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 2020

He followed her as she tried to bring some order out of chads, and knew not that he spoke aloud.

From Kate Carnegie and Those Ministers by Ian Maclaren

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