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In the video game Minecraft, a portal built from which material gives players access to the Nether?

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access

American  

[ak-ses] / ˈæk sɛs /

noun

• accesses
  plural

1. 

   the ability, right, or permission to approach, enter, speak with, or use; admittance.

   They have access to the files.

2. a way or means of approach.

   The only access to the house was a rough dirt road.

3. the state or quality of being approachable.

   Located deep in the woods on an island with no dock, the cabin was difficult of access.

4. Theology. approach to God through Jesus Christ.

5. an attack or onset, as of a disease or symptom.

   Some influenza patients experience attacks for many weeks after the primary access.

   In a violent access of coughing I fractured one of my ribs.

6. a sudden, strong burst of emotion.

   In an access of clumsy tenderness, he tried to dry the tears that trembled on her eyelashes.

7. accession.

8. public-access television.

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verb (used with object)

• accesses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• accessed,
  past participle,  past
• accessing
  present participle

1. to make contact with or gain access to; be able to reach, approach, enter, etc..

   Bank customers can access their checking accounts instantly through the online portal.

2. Computers. (of a program or system component) to retrieve (data) for use by another program or application or for transfer from one part of the system to another.

   This key enables other applications to access data from within the event management system even if you aren't logged in.

adjective

1. Television. (of programming, time, etc.) available to the public.

   Six channels now offer access services.

access British  

/ ˈæksɛs /

noun

1. the act of approaching or entering

2. the condition of allowing entry, esp (of a building or room) allowing entry by wheelchairs, prams, etc

3. the right or privilege to approach, reach, enter, or make use of something

4. a way or means of approach or entry

5. the opportunity or right to see or approach someone

   she fights for divorce and free access to her children

6. (modifier) designating programmes made by the general public as distinguished from those made by professional broadcasters

   access television

7. a sudden outburst or attack, as of rage or disease

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verb

1. to gain access to; make accessible or available

2. (tr) computing

   1. to obtain or retrieve (information) from a storage device

   2. to place (information) in a storage device See also direct access sequential access

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preaccess
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• accesses
  plural

Participles

• accessing
  present
• accessed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• access
  simple
• accesses
  simple
• have accessed
  perfect
• has accessed
  perfect
• am accessing
  progressive
• are accessing
  progressive
• is accessing
  progressive
• have been accessing
  perfect progressive
• has been accessing
  perfect progressive

Past

• accessed
  simple
• had accessed
  perfect
• was accessing
  progressive
• were accessing
  progressive
• had been accessing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will access
  simple
• will have accessed
  perfect
• will be accessing
  progressive
• will have been accessing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of access

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English accesse, from Old French acces or directly from Latin accessus “an approach,” equivalent to acced-, variant stem of accēdere “to accede ” + -tus suffix of verb action

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Explanation

Most libraries provide computers you can use to access the Internet. If chemicals are being stolen from a lab, you might ask who has access to the lab. Access is approaching or making use of something, or the ability to do so Sometimes the word is applied to a person. If you work in the same room as your boss, you might have easy access to her. A really good boss will work hard to make herself accessible to her employees. Access is from Middle English, from Middle French acces "arrival," from Latin accessus "an approach," from accedere "to approach."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

access accesses accessed accessing

It became the biggest buyer of Nvidia's chips in South East Asia and is suspected of giving backdoor access to these chips to Chinese companies via its data centres in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026

Committee assignments offer a test of whether congressional access contributes to returns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026

Huang was essentially a “China salesman” for Nvidia, he said, noting that the embattled former CEO was an advocate for Chinese companies to retain access to U.S. chips.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 13, 2026

AFP was given access to the site -- classified as strategic critical infrastructure -- on condition of not revealing its location.

From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2026

“I’m going to access it with my laptop, which contains the data I need for my weather models. Also, his name is Ben.”

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

When the superconducting qubit needs that information, it accesses the stored vibrational state, performs the required operation, and returns the modified information to memory.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026

In reality, as Slater notes, the demographics of who accesses psychotherapy show that the issue is often a matter of access, not will.

From Salon ● May 18, 2026

Doing so accesses the car’s maximum torque of over 1,000 Newton-meters—793 lb-ft.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

"Trimingham beach is a really remote location and there aren't any nearby beach accesses so they were put there to move things around like concrete, steel sheet piles and timber."

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2024

Three pontoon bridges were constructed for the crossing of the rest of the army, and accesses to the heights in front of St. Julien were prepared.

From The Franco-German War of 1870-71 by Count Helmuth

White House adviser Michael Kratsios said this summer that Moonshot AI had accessed high-end Nvidia chips in Thailand.

From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2026

The 22-year-old accessed the hospital while wearing medical scrubs, NHS branded clothing, a stethoscope and a pager.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

The court adviser said such cases should focus on whether a chatbot accessed articles unlawfully—such as by getting around a paywall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Material posted on many online platforms and social media sites could still be accessed without an account, Reddit said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026

He quickly accessed the electronic file that he was required to complete after every interaction with a student.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

According to outage tracker Downdetector, hundreds of thousands of users in more than 70 countries reported problems accessing services including Outlook and Teams beginning Thursday and stretching into Friday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026

Users began reporting they were having trouble accessing Microsoft 365 products on Thursday.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026

By harnessing these vibrations, the researchers have created a way for quantum computers to process information efficiently while accessing a flexible working memory.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026

More than 60 million Americans are between the ages of 50 and 64, and this population faces significant challenges accessing affordable, comprehensive health insurance, Baldwin said in a statement.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026

I turn around and do some serious accessing.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

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Related Words

• approach
• connection
• entry

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