dongle
[ dong-guhl, dawng‐ ]
/ ˈdɒŋ gəl, ˈdɔŋ‐ /
noun Digital Technology.
a hardware device, paired with a licensed copy of a software program, that must be plugged into a computer to authorize every use of the software: an antipiracy dongle.
a device that can be plugged into a hardware port on a computer, television, or other electronic device, to enable access when connecting devices to peripherals, to the internet, or to each other:a USB dongle for wireless internet access;an HDMI dongle with television apps;a display port dongle to connect the laptop to the projector.
QUIZZES
DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!
We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Origin of dongle
First recorded in 1980–85; probably an arbitrary coinage
Words nearby dongle
Donetsk, dong, donga, Dongen, Don Giovanni, dongle, Dongola, Dongola leather, dong quai, Dongting, donicker
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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.
First, I plugged the 3-inch dongle into the HDMI input on the back of my TV, and plugged it into its power source.
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