USB

American

abbreviation

Computers.

universal serial bus: an external serial bus interface standard for connecting peripheral devices to a computer, as in a or .

USB British

abbreviation

Universal Serial Bus: a standard for connection sockets on computers and other electronic equipment

"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

Etymology

Origin of USB

First recorded in 1995

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Just as a USB adapter allows devices with different connectors to work together, Floquet magnons could bridge frequencies that would otherwise remain incompatible."

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026

On Feb. 19, the witness received a package from Grillo containing a USB drive and a check from another of Grillo’s nonprofits for $20,000, according to the affidavit.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026

More than a dozen USB chargers overheated, including one that reached 216 degrees Fahrenheit, just above the boiling temperature of water.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

Hardline union USB said wages in Italy "have been stagnant for 30 years".

From Barron's • Nov. 28, 2025

Rifling through it, I found a protein bar and a personal USB, probably full of music to listen to on the drive.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023