lanyard

American  

[lan-yerd] / ˈlæn yərd /

Or laniard

noun

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.

---

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

---

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

As the Royal Pop is on a lanyard, it manages to evoke both a traditional masculine pocket watch and a fashion accessory that can be hung from a handbag.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Wear your phone on a lanyard while in flight.

From Slate • Mar. 14, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2024

All attendees would also get a lanyard similar to the ones worn in the actual negotiations.

From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2024

He straightened his tie and took his Phi Beta Kappa key from his vest pocket and began to twirl it on its lanyard, as he often did on such occasions.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown