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.

See Examples For:

USB

They might look like the real deal, but only cables carrying the official USB logo promise the necessary safeguards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

In the arrest raid, investigators seized multiple devices from his bedroom, including laptops, desktop computers, hard drives and USB storage devices.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

The recordings came to light last July when a California state officer discovered a USB camera inside the men’s employee locker room and notified the California Highway Patrol, which launched a probe, according to prosecutors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

"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

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