Chad Meaning
/t͡ʃæd/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSmall pieces of paper punched out from the edges of continuous stationery, or from ballot papers, paper tape, punched cards, etc.
nameA male given name from Old English; also a modern nickname for Charles, Chadwick and similar-sounding names.
Sentence Examples
I said to Chad that you're in a position to influence people.
Chad is called "Tchad" in French.
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the election recount, a single hanging ____ caused a dispute over the vote.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
____ is a landlocked country in north-central Africa with a history.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English Chadde, from Old English Ċeadda, of obscure meaning; name of a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon saint, revived in the 20th century. The sense of “alpha male” originates from an apparent stereotype that men with such a name tend to bear that temperament, first attested in c. late 1990s in Chicago, Illinois (specifically "successful white man, yuppie"), but in common usage only as of the late 2010s via 4chan slang.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""What else? Anyway, here's the genealogy: Charles Junior's only son is Charles the Third - like royalty. He goes by Chip - Cassie's daddy. The mom is Cindy. The dead son was Chad - Charles the Fourth."
"All Cs," I said. "Sounds like they like order.""
— 1993, Jonathan Kellerman, Devil's Waltz, Random House, published 1998, →ISBN, page 26:
"'He used to be called Trevor Buss.'
'Chad? I don't believe you.' […]
'He changed his name into Muhammad Shahabuddin Ali-Shah.'
'No!'
'He'd insist on the whole name. He played football and his mates got fed up saying, "Pass the ball, Muhammad Shahabuddin Ali-Shah" […] No one passed to him. So he became Chad.'"
— 1995, Hanif Kureishi, The Black Album, Faber and Faber, →ISBN, pages 88, 90:
"The scene gave the company’s president, Chad Hartmann, a glimmer of hope amid the chaos that ensued after Tuesday's raid purged roughly half of his staff — many of whom had been longtime employees of the company, which has been processing boxed beef for more than 15 years."
— 2025 June 15, Nicole Acevedo, “How a city in Nebraska is recovering after the state's largest worksite immigration raid”, in NBC News:
"They are united by the fact that women will not have sex with them, usually attributed to shallow obsessions with looks or superficial personality, and by their hatred of “Chads” and “Stacys”, the men and women who have sex."
— 2018 April 25, Alex Hern, “Who are the 'incels' and how do they relate to Toronto van attack?”, in The Guardian:
"Short for “female humanoid”, it’s used in place of the word “woman” to depict how, in an incel’s view, women are not entirely human, but are instead robot-like androids who only crave sex with Chads."
— 2018 April 28, Kate Wilson, “Last week in tech: sex robots”, in The Georgia Straight:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the election recount, a single hanging ____ caused a dispute over the vote.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
____ is a landlocked country in north-central Africa with a history.