DDoS

American  

[dee-daws, ‐-dos, dee-dee-oh-es] / ˈdiˈdɔs, ‐ˈdɒs, ˈdiˈdiˌoʊˈɛs /

adjective

1. pertaining to or being an incident in which a network of computers floods an online resource with high levels of unwanted traffic so that it is inaccessible to legitimate service requests.

   a DDoS attack.

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DDoS British  

abbreviation

1. distributed denial of service: a method of attacking a computer system by flooding it with so many messages that it is obliged to shut down

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Etymology

Origin of DDoS

1995–2000; D(istributed) D(enial) o(f) S(ervice)

Example Sentences

Called distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks, these were massive floods of junk internet data designed to knock websites offline by overwhelming the data pipes that connected them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

When a DDoS attack happened, the Big Pipes wizards usually knew how the attack was being carried out and the software behind it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

They told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Whilst DDoS attacks are relatively low in sophistication and impact, they can cause disruption by preventing legitimate users from accessing online services."

From BBC • Nov. 2, 2024

“A DDoS attack sends a very large number of signals to an online target to disrupt it,” Anthony Lim, Director of the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace and International Studies in Singapore, told the BBC.

From BBC • Aug. 12, 2024

A DDoS attack employs a network of distributed computers to direct junk traffic at the target site in an effort to render it unusable.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 12, 2023