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card punch

noun
  1. keypunch(def 1).
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keypunch

[kee-puhnch]
noun
  1. Also key punch. Also called card punch. a machine, operated by a keyboard, for coding information by punching holes in cards or paper tape in specified patterns.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to punch holes in (a punch card or paper tape), using a keypunch.
  2. to insert (data) into a computer by means of a keypunch: to keypunch code numbers.
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Origin of keypunch

First recorded in 1930–35; key1 + punch1
Related formskey·punch·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for card-punch

card punch

noun
  1. a device, no longer widely used, controlled by a computer, for transferring information from the central processing unit onto punched cardsCompare card reader
  2. another name for key punch
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for card-punch

keypunch

n.

1933, from key (n.1) + punch (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper