Chan Chan (chän? chän?) A ruined pre-Incan city on the northern coast of Peru, built after ad 850. At its peak it was home to tens of thousands of people.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.