chad

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈchad 

: small pieces of paper or cardboard produced in punching paper tape or data cards

also : a piece of chad

chadless

ˈchad-ləs 

adjective

Chad

2 of 2

noun (2)

ˈchad 

variants or less commonly chad

plural Chads also chads

slang, sometimes disparaging

: a dominant male figure : a conventionally attractive or stereotypically masculine man

Despite stares from "some dudes in bars, usually the Chads in the room," he said, his go-to drink is now a Cosmopolitan, served straight up in a V-shaped glass.

—Becky Hughes

… explained to the detective the worldview of incels, who say only alpha males, known as Chads, date all the women …

—Liam Casey

… some absolute Chad of a guy shredded the stair railing on skis.

—Jacob Hersh

Did you know?

Slang Meaning of Chad

Chad is a slang term meaning “a stereotypical alpha male; a man, admired or scorned for brazen self-confidence.” Learn more >

Examples of chad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

So set aside all the talk about hanging chads, swinging chads, pregnant chads and the Supreme Court decisions. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026

As the new season progresses, one of the hanging chads from last season is the status of Voight’s relationship with Assistant State Attorney Nina Chapman (Sara Bues), who figured out during last season’s finale that Voight had a hand in setting up Reid’s murder. — Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2025

But for some hanging chads and Supreme Court litigation, Gore-Lieberman almost won. — Nathan Diament, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2025

With Lionsgate Studios now split from Starz and some other hanging chads, the M&A landscape could soon heat up dramatically. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 9 June 2025

Most prominently these days, not a single American voter poked a ballot chad for Elon Musk to be chief executive of the United States — and not just because the megabillionaire was born in South Africa. — John Scott Lewinski, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Mar. 2025

Having a simple common system would remove the frictions caused by every state having different schemes that allow for different shenanigans, a la Florida's hanging chads. — Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

After 2000’s infamous hanging chads, election workers had to become IT professionals. — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 25 Oct. 2024

Hanging chads mattered far more than anything Cheney or Lieberman said. — David French, The Mercury News, 5 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

origin unknown

Noun (2)

from the given name Chad

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1944, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

2021, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for chad

• ad
• add
• bad
• brad
• cad
• clad
• dad
• fad
• gad
• glad
• grad
• had

Geographical Definition

Chad

geographical name

ˈchad 

variants or French Tchad

landlocked country in north central Africa; capital N'Djamena; a republic; until 1959 a territory of French Equatorial Africa area 495,755 square miles (1,284,000square kilometers)

Chadian

ˈcha-dē-ən 

adjective or noun