login

American  

[lawg-in, log-, lawg-in, log-] / ˈlɔgˌɪn, ˈlɒg-, ˌlɔgˈɪn, ˌlɒg- /

noun

logins plural

1. the act of logging in to a database, mobile device, or computer, especially a multiuser computer or a remote or networked computer system.

   The program records the time of each login.

2. a username and password that allows a person to log in to a computer system, network, mobile device, or user account.

   I’ve forgotten my login again!

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verb (used without object)

1. log in.

   Login with your new password.

Usage

Many who are neither professionals in the computer field nor amateur tech enthusiasts condemn the use of the solid form login as a verb, and with good reason. It doesn’t behave like a normal verb. You cannot say you have loginned, and you are never in the process of loginning. Moreover, you cannot even ask someone to login you; you must ask that person to log you in. Clearly, it is the two-word phrase log in that functions fully as an English verb, not the solid form. Normally, we would expect the verb phrase log in and the noun login to behave in the same way as similar pairs: blow out/blowout, crack down/crackdown, hang up/hangup, splash down/splashdown, turn off/turnoff, where the two-word phrase is a verb and the one-word form is a noun. And yet, this gluing together of terms like login, logon, backup, and setup as verbs is common, especially in writing about computers. Not for everyone, though; some well-known software companies, for example, carefully maintain the distinction in their programs and documentation. The wisest course is to find out what the standard is among those for whom you’re writing, and follow it.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• logins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of login

First recorded in 1965–70

Compare meaning

How does login compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• sign-in vs. login

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

login logins

To submit a claim, users must provide an email address or phone number linked to the YouTube TV account and the login ID and PIN from the settlement notice they received.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Scammers will ask you to provide or verify personal information, account login details or two-factor authentication codes, transfer money to them or download malicious software, it says.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

A BBC investigation in December found some driving instructors were being offered kickbacks of up to £250 a month to sell their login details to touts.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

By evening, the student said the login process was updated to redirect users to a page that said Canvas was “undergoing scheduled maintenance.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

Then the computer shut itself off and I had to power it back on to get the login prompt again.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Premium accounts for ChatGPT and Claude can get pricey, but you should think twice before pooling your logins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

Other issues were reported as well, related to logins, comments, and other features.

From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2026

We posed as an instructor again, and Khalid offered us £250 a month for our logins.

From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025

Shopify shares fell 4.5% on Monday after technology issues affected merchant logins and platform access.

From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025

This is to sertifie your Honner, as how I am heer at Hamestet, where I have found out my lady to be in logins at one Mrs. Moore's, near upon Hamestet-Hethe.

From Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady — Volume 5 by Richardson, Samuel