1. Plural of nicad; rechargeable batteries that use nickel and cadmium as active materials.
Usage: informal; technical; often used in the context of older consumer electronics and power tools

Examples

• The old cordless drill still runs on nicads, though they don't hold a charge as well as modern lithium batteries.
• Many vintage cameras relied on nicads to power their flash units.
• He replaced the nicads in his emergency flashlight with newer NiMH batteries.
• Nicads were popular in the 1980s and 1990s before lithium-ion technology became widespread.
• The toy robot required four nicads to operate.