Carrier-Sense Multi-Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD)

A network access method used by Ethernet in which a station listens for traffic before transmitting. If two stations transmit simultaneously, a collision is detected and both stations wait a brief time before attempting to transmit again. So called because it a) allows multiple stations to access the broadcast channel at will, b) avoids contention via carrier sense and deference, and c) resolves contention via collision detection and retransmission.