punch card

or punchcard, punched card

noun

1. a card having holes punched in specific positions and patterns so as to represent data to be stored or processed mechanically, electrically, or photoelectrically.

Word History and Origins

Origin of punch card¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

But the justices in their unsigned opinion said it violated the principle of “equal protection of the laws” for Florida counties to use different standards for counting or not counting punch card ballots.

From Los Angeles Times

The numbers were stored on punch cards and loaded into massive computers, allowing the club to rank players.

From Seattle Times

The men running the hastily reconfigured computation lab had ordered a collection of IBM punch card accounting machines, which were almost identical to the type of machines Naomi had been using back at Princeton.

From Scientific American

Jim had a brief stint in the Army and then punched keys for a few years, back when data were stored on punch cards.

From Los Angeles Times

After the funerals, which were nine days apart, we were coming back to the mortuary, like, "Do we get a punch card? Is there free coffee?"

From Salon