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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. 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 ² 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 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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Chad was under French control until 1960.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chads
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chad¹

First recorded in 1930–35; origin uncertain

Origin of Chad³

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

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

One of the biggest influencers is Braden Peters, AKA Clavicular, a sharp-jawed 20-year-old known in looksmaxxing terms as "giga chad"; 10/10.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026

We've had other controversial elections, from the tangled mess of 1876 to the Kennedy-Nixon nail-biter of 1960 to the "hanging chad" election of 2000, which was settled by a 5-4 Supreme Court decision.

From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2021

During the recount, was his sense of mental well-being intact or hanging like a chad?

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 27, 2016

It was signed by the alliance's lead attorney, David Boies, who took on Microsoft, fought for Al Gore in the hanging chad presidential election of 2000, and litigated on behalf of gay marriage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2016

See chad, chad box, eighty-column mind, green card, dusty deck, lace card, card walloper.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Guy L. Steele

Owner Chad Jacob said parents enrolling their boys often said, “He’s missing something, and we don’t know what it is.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 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

“Just complete classlessness from Chad Bryant, the owner, and his team to wait on Corey,” Hamlin said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

“Severe bleeding remains one of the leading causes of preventable death following traumatic injury,” said Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin in a statement last month.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Justin and Chad whisper a few things to each other.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

She has lived through the days of hanging chads.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024

While the final results can sometimes be controversial, there’s no risk of hanging chads - voting takes place entirely online.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 12, 2023

Antonio Mugica was in Boca Raton when an American presidential election really melted down in 2000, and he watched with shocked fascination as local government officials argued over hanging chads and butterfly ballots.

From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 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