chad

[ chad ]

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

Origin of chad

1
First recorded in 1930–35; origin uncertain

Words Nearby chad

Other definitions for Chad (2 of 3)

Chad1
[ chad ]

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). Capital: N'Djamena.

  • French Tchad [chad] /tʃad/ (for defs. 1, 2).

Other definitions for Chad (3 of 3)

Chad2
[ chad ]

noun
  1. a male given name.

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

Origin of Chad

3
First recorded in 2010–15, for def. 2

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use chad in a sentence

  • In a few moments the ancient belfry of St. chad's began to send forth its mellow chimes.

    A Charming Fellow, Volume II (of 3) | Frances Eleanor Trollope
  • But like a flash Nora got behind her chair, putting it between herself and chad.

    We Ten | Lyda Farrington Kraus
  • She made a motion of her hand as if dismissing him, but chad never moved.

    We Ten | Lyda Farrington Kraus
  • Here is the sketch: it's pretty good of Nora, but of course it's a caricature of chad.

    We Ten | Lyda Farrington Kraus
  • And he isn't up to chad's tricks, or the set he's got him into.

    We Ten | Lyda Farrington Kraus

British Dictionary definitions for chad (1 of 2)

chad

/ (tʃæd) /


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

Origin of chad

1
C20: perhaps based on chaff 1

British Dictionary definitions for Chad (2 of 2)

Chad

/ (tʃæd) /


noun
  1. 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): French name: Tchad

  2. Lake Chad 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

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

Cultural definitions for Chad

Chad

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.

Notes for Chad

Chad was under French control until 1960.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.