Easter egg

American  

[ee-ster eg] / ˈi stər ˌɛg /

noun

1. a chicken egg that is dyed and often given a figure or design, or an imitation of such an egg, as an egg-shaped candy or chocolate, used at Easter as a gift or decoration.

2. Digital Technology. an extra feature, as a message or video, hidden in a software program, video game, DVD, etc., and revealed as by an obscure sequence of keystrokes or commands.

3. Movies, Television. a hidden message, as a cryptic reference, iconic image, or inside joke, that fans are intended to discover in a television show or movie.

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Easter egg British  

noun

1. an egg given to children at Easter, usually a chocolate egg or a hen's egg with its shell painted

2. a bonus or extra feature hidden inside a website, computer game, or DVD, that is only revealed after repeated or lengthy viewing or playing

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Usage

What does Easter egg mean? Easter eggs can refer to candy eggs or eggs decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, and searched for during Easter egg hunts.In popular culture, Easters eggs are text, images, visual gags, jokes, or other content that creators intentionally hide in media for their and their viewers' amusement.

Etymology

Origin of Easter egg

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

No, my dumb friend edited it and put that in himself as a little Easter egg.

From Los Angeles Times

Every one of the guys was kind of a bit of an Easter egg.

From The Wall Street Journal

“This is like the worst Easter egg hunt in history,” Elliot muttered, and I almost laughed.

From Literature

Throughout the year, the tavern hosts crafts fairs, cooking classes, folk concerts and an annual Easter egg hunt.

From The Wall Street Journal

Others speculated that, due to Fennell’s penchant for audience provocation, the quotation marks were an Easter egg indicating that her take on Brontë’s novel would be far from your great-great-grandmother’s “Wuthering Heights.”

From Salon