lanyard

American  

[lan-yerd] / ˈlæn jərd /

Or laniard

noun

• lanyards
  plural

1. Nautical. a short rope or wire rove through deadeyes to hold and tauten standing rigging.

2. 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.

3. a cord with a small hook at one end, used in firing certain kinds of cannon.

4. a colored, single-strand cord worn around the left shoulder by a member of a military unit awarded a foreign decoration.

5. a white cord worn around the right shoulder, as by a military police officer, and secured to the butt of a pistol.

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lanyard British  

/ ˈlænjəd /

noun

1. a cord worn around the neck, shoulder, etc, to hold something such as a whistle or knife

2. a similar but merely decorative cord worn as part of a military uniform

3. a cord with an attached hook used in firing certain types of cannon

4. nautical a line rove through deadeyes for extending or tightening standing rigging

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lanyards
  plural

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

Explanation

A lanyard is a type of strap or cord with a hook for your I.D. card or keys. Reporters often wear a lanyard with a badge that reads "Press." If you've attended summer camp on a university campus or gotten a backstage pass to a rock concert, you've probably worn a lanyard around your neck that identified what you were doing there. Doctors and nurses in hospitals often wear these identification lanyards, and so do people at conventions and workers in prisons. Smaller lanyards hold keys, whistles, or flash drives. The original lanyards were nautical, used to raise the sails on a sailboat.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lanyard lanyards

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

Leigh, the mother of one a 12-year-old girl neurodivergent girl who felt "embarrassed" that she was forced to produce the lanyard when requested, has welcomed the reversal.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2024

Her press ID was visible on a lanyard around her neck.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2024

“Oh, well,” said Malcolm, and he tried to take the lanyard away gently.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Every evening around 5pm, streams of workers wearing company lanyards spill out of high-rise offices in the district of Cubao in Manila.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

I’ve seen people use fanny packs with tethers inside to further secure phones and also phone lanyards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026

Making lanyards or whistle information kits isn’t dangerous.

From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2026

Their conversations were not limited to convention halls crowded with researchers wearing white conference lanyards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025

“And lanyards? I must’ve made about a hundred lanyards.”

From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor