CAPTCHA
Americannoun
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an online test designed so that humans but not computers are able to pass it, used as a security measure and usually involving a visual-perception task.
Site visitors must solve the “distorted text” CAPTCHA before posting comments.
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a computer program that generates such tests.
Etymology
Origin of CAPTCHA
First recorded in 2000–05; C(ompletely) A(utomated) P(ublic) T(uring) (Test to Tell) C(omputers and) H(umans) A(part); inspired by capture ( def. )
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.
That’s great, and I want that, but sometimes I want entertainment, style and originality too, and all of those things exist in this exciting, economical tale of a woman who can’t get past a CAPTCHA.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2025
This is sort of like — it’s occurring to me that we basically designed a CAPTCHA.
From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2023
When you go to a website that would normally ask you to fill out a CAPTCHA, that site can ask your phone or computer if a human is using it.
From The Verge • Jun. 20, 2022
For instance, spammers used to send messages with all text in a photo because filter bots can’t read photos—this is the idea behind CAPTCHA.
From Slate • Apr. 10, 2019
Indeed, Luis von Ahn, one of the Carnegie Mellon University team that coined the term CAPTCHA, says he’s skeptical.
From Forbes • Oct. 28, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
