internet

or In·ter·net

[ in-ter-net ]

noun
  1. Usually the internet (except when used before a noun). a vast computer network linking smaller computer networks worldwide: includes commercial, educational, governmental, and other networks, all of which use the same set of communications protocols: They advertised the sale in the local paper and on the internet.My insurance company offers incentives to refill prescriptions over the internet.Parents are advised to monitor their kids’ internet access and block websites with adult content.

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Idioms about internet

  1. break the internet,

    • Slang. (of a story, image, etc.) to go viral online and suddenly dominate public interest and discourse: Creative marketing for her new album broke the internet.

    • to cause internet technology or culture to change for the worse or cease to function: Could government surveillance and censorship break the internet forever?

  2. win the internet, Slang. to be or post an article, comment, etc., on the internet that is particularly good or that earns the approval of others (often used sarcastically): That perceptive tweet of his won the internet last night.Very funny, intelligent tirade—you win the internet!

Origin of internet

1
First recorded in 1970–75; shortening of internetwork

usage note For internet

The lowercase form internet is now widely favored over the capitalized spelling Internet. Originally, the word was capitalized as a proper noun to distinguish the network that we now know (having developed from the large and specific U.S. Department of Defense ARPANET network) from smaller, more generic linked networks. Two major trends have eroded the former use of the capitalized form: the growing perception of the internet as a generic entity, and the general trend toward lowercase spelling and other shortcuts that minimize keystrokes in digital communication. Accordingly, the lowercase form internet was first embraced in digital media and informal writing. It was subsequently adopted by technology-related publications. Major newspapers and style guides have also now adopted the lowercase form internet as standard. The capitalized spelling may still be found in older published material or in some linguistically conservative publications. However, while either form is acceptable in writing (as long as it is used consistently), the lowercase spelling internet is the form best adapted to its evolving use.

word story For internet

Introduced in the 1960s, the internet became widely accessible by the 1990s. Over the years, many internet-related words entered mainstream usage, but given the pace of change, some terms gradually fell out of favor. Some new terms that at first seemed aptly modern quickly turned out to be inadequate to encompass what the internet rapidly became. For example, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the metaphor information superhighway was popularized by former Vice President Al Gore to help people visualize how the internet could become a part of their everyday lives. But as the internet became ubiquitous, this metaphor, along with the related term infobahn (modeled on autobahn ), was forsaken by those who took the benefits of the internet as a given. Now the term information superhighway is generally considered outmoded and often used humorously. Netizen, a term used to describe a person who avidly uses the internet, has become less relevant as more people gain online access. (However, in some countries in which internet use is restricted or controlled by the government, the term netizen remains relevant because it connotes unfettered online access.) In contrast, the newer term digital citizen has grown in use amid concerns that more people, especially young people, need to learn how to safely and effectively navigate the internet. The term netiquette, or the rules of etiquette for communicating online, has also declined in use—hopefully because netiquette has become more widely accepted, rather than because it is now held in lower esteem. And, as dial-up services are phased out and replaced, the term itself has unsurprisingly fallen out of popular use. The colorful term cyberspace, coined by sci-fi author William Gibson in the early 1980s, peaked around the year 2000, but has declined since. However, the prefix cyber- has proven to be not only relevant but linguistically productive. The terms cybercrime, cyberterrorism, cyberbullying, and cyberstalking, for example, have surged in use as people have become increasingly concerned about online security and the personal and social outcomes of an interconnected online world. In the 1990s, you might have surfed the web, but today you’re more likely to see the verbs browse or search in this context. Similarly, you now look up something on the internet or you simply go online. The expression World Wide Web over the years has become truncated to the easier-to-say web. The term hyperlink, though still in use, has been overtaken by its shortened version, link. An instant message is more often referred to simply as an IM. In most internet contexts, the adjective electronic has been shortened to the prefix e-. So electronic mail has become email (originally e-mail ), and other open compounds like electronic learning and electronic signature have likewise become e-learning and e-signature. It’s impossible to know exactly where these trends in internet-related language will go next. However, we can feel confident that as the internet grows and morphs, so too will the language we use to describe it.

Words that may be confused with internet

Words Nearby internet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use internet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for internet

internet

/ (ˈɪntəˌnɛt) /


noun
  1. the internet (sometimes with a capital) the single worldwide computer network that interconnects other computer networks, on which end-user services, such as World Wide Web sites or data archives, are located, enabling data and other information to be exchanged: Also known as: the Net

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Internet

Internet

[ ĭntər-nĕt′ ]


  1. A system connecting computers around the world using TCP/IP, which stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, a set of standards for transmitting and receiving digital data. The Internet consists primarily of the collection of billions of interconnected webpages that are transferred using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), and are collectively known as the World Wide Web. The Internet also uses FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to transfer files, and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to transfer e-mail.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for Internet

Internet

The global communication network that allows almost all computers worldwide to connect and exchange information. Some of the early impetus for such a network came from the U.S. government network Arpanet, starting in the 1960s.

Notes for Internet

Some scholars have argued that the access to massive amounts of information, together with the widespread ability to communicate, has altered the way that human beings perceive reality.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.