login

American  

[lawg-in, log-, lawg-in, log-] / ˈlɔgˌɪn, ˈlɒg-, ˌlɔgˈɪn, ˌlɒg- /

noun

logins plural

1. the act of logging in to a database, mobile device, or computer, especially a multiuser computer or a remote or networked computer system.

   The program records the time of each login.

2. a username and password that allows a person to log in to a computer system, network, mobile device, or user account.

   I’ve forgotten my login again!

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verb (used without object)

1. log in.

   Login with your new password.

Usage

Many who are neither professionals in the computer field nor amateur tech enthusiasts condemn the use of the solid form login as a verb, and with good reason. It doesn’t behave like a normal verb. You cannot say you have loginned, and you are never in the process of loginning. Moreover, you cannot even ask someone to login you; you must ask that person to log you in. Clearly, it is the two-word phrase log in that functions fully as an English verb, not the solid form. Normally, we would expect the verb phrase log in and the noun login to behave in the same way as similar pairs: blow out/blowout, crack down/crackdown, hang up/hangup, splash down/splashdown, turn off/turnoff, where the two-word phrase is a verb and the one-word form is a noun. And yet, this gluing together of terms like login, logon, backup, and setup as verbs is common, especially in writing about computers. Not for everyone, though; some well-known software companies, for example, carefully maintain the distinction in their programs and documentation. The wisest course is to find out what the standard is among those for whom you’re writing, and follow it.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• logins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of login

First recorded in 1965–70

Compare meaning

How does login compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• sign-in vs. login

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

login logins

To submit a claim, users must provide an email address or phone number linked to the YouTube TV account and the login ID and PIN from the settlement notice they received.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Modern hackers increasingly use these networks to steal the login credentials their victims use for cloud-computing services, said Adam Meyers, a senior vice president with the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

Gather all the login credentials for your accounts, including banking and bills, as well as any other pertinent information someone might need to know to make sure everything is paid or transferred properly.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026

The ICO's probe was conducted in coordination with Canada's privacy commissioner and found 23andMe violated UK law by failing to implement appropriate authentication and verification measures for customers during its login process.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

When the login prompt reappeared, I typed in LEUCOSIA.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Jordan urges job seekers to ask reverse recruiters who will handle their data, including logins to LinkedIn and Workday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

Other issues were reported as well, related to logins, comments, and other features.

From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2026

Shopify shares fell 4.5% on Monday after technology issues affected merchant logins and platform access.

From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025

VPNs mask your IP address and encrypt your traffic, but websites still can collect data on you through cookies, browser fingerprinting and account logins.

From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2025

The Unix password encryption algorithm is designed to be computationally intensive in order to foil brute-force crack attacks, so although none of the logins succeeds; the overhead of rejecting them all can be substantial.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.