dongle

[ dong-guh l, dawng‐ ]

/ ˈdɒŋ gəl, ˈdɔŋ‐ /

noun Digital Technology.

a hardware device attached to a computer without which a particular software program will not run: used to prevent unauthorized use.

Also called wire·less a·dap·ter. a device that can be plugged into a USB port to enable wireless access from a computer to an external Wi-Fi device, as a mobile phone, or to the Internet, via high-speed broadband, or to enable wireless connectivity in a printer or other peripheral.

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Lincolnesque

without interest or significance; dull; insipid.

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very high or tall; lofty.

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Words nearby dongle

dong, dong hai, dong quai, donga, dongen, dongle, dongola, dongola leather, dongting, donicker, donizetti

Origin of dongle

First recorded in 1980–85; probably an arbitrary coinage

Example sentences from the Web for dongle

Out of the gate, the dongle currently supports just three major video platforms: YouTube, Netflix, and Google Play.
Google Chromecast Enables Web Streaming Over Television|Brian Ries|July 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
First, I plugged the 3-inch dongle into the HDMI input on the back of my TV, and plugged it into its power source.
Google Chromecast Enables Web Streaming Over Television|Brian Ries|July 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for dongle

dongle

/ (ˈdɒŋɡəl) /

noun

computing an electronic device that accompanies a software item to prevent the unauthorized copying of programs

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