lanyard
Americannoun
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Nautical. a short rope or wire rove through deadeyes to hold and tauten standing rigging.
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any of various small cords or ropes for securing or suspending something, as a whistle about the neck or a knife from one's belt.
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a cord with a small hook at one end, used in firing certain kinds of cannon.
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a colored, single-strand cord worn around the left shoulder by a member of a military unit awarded a foreign decoration.
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a white cord worn around the right shoulder, as by a military police officer, and secured to the butt of a pistol.
noun
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a cord worn around the neck, shoulder, etc, to hold something such as a whistle or knife
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a similar but merely decorative cord worn as part of a military uniform
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a cord with an attached hook used in firing certain types of cannon
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nautical a line rove through deadeyes for extending or tightening standing rigging
Etymology
Origin of lanyard
1475–85; blend of late Middle English lanyer (< Middle French laniere, Old French lasniere thong, equivalent to lasne noose + -iere, feminine of -ier -ier 2 ) and yard 1
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.
And then there were train enthusiasts like an 11-year-old passenger, who was wearing a homemade California Zephyr shirt, a blue Amtrak baseball hat and a lanyard with collectible pins.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025
Wear your phone on a lanyard while in flight.
From Slate • Mar. 14, 2025
"We’re very grateful that the trust have revoked the lanyard policy that should never have been implemented", Leigh said.
From BBC • Nov. 6, 2024
All attendees would also get a lanyard similar to the ones worn in the actual negotiations.
From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2024
“It’s too thin. I want to make a lanyard, and it’s got to be a bit heavier than that.”
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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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.