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login
[ noun lawg-in, log-; verb lawg-in, log- ]
/ noun ËlÉgËÉȘn, ËlÉg-; verb ËlÉgËÉȘn, ËlÉg- /
See the most commonly confused word associated with sign-in
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noun Also log-in; log·on [lawg-on, -awn, log-] /ËlÉgËÉn, -ËÉn, ËlÉg-/ .
the act of logging in to a database, mobile device, or computer, especially a multiuser computer or a remote or networked computer system.
a username and password that allows a person to log in to a computer system, network, mobile device, or user account.
verb (used without object)
to log in: Login with your new password.See log1 (def. 17).
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QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of login
First recorded in 1965â70
usage note for login
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 reason. It doesnât 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 and not the solid form. Normally, we would expect log in, the verb phrase and login, the noun 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 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, however. Some well-known software companies, for example, carefully maintain the distinction in their programs and documentation.
But habits are difficult to change. Those who react to the one-word verb as an error will probably have to get used to it, and those who use the one-word verb will have to recognize that others will see it and wince.
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, however. Some well-known software companies, for example, carefully maintain the distinction in their programs and documentation.
But habits are difficult to change. Those who react to the one-word verb as an error will probably have to get used to it, and those who use the one-word verb will have to recognize that others will see it and wince.
Words nearby login
logicism, logicize, logic level, logic programming, Logie, login, logion, logistic, logistically, logistic curve, logistician
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use login in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for login
log in
/ computing /
verb
Also: log on to enter (an identification number, password, etc) from a remote terminal to gain access to a multiaccess system
noun
Also: login the process by which a computer user logs in
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with login
log in
Also, log on. Enter into a computer the information needed to begin a session, as in I logged in at two o'clock, or There's no record of your logging on today. These expressions refer especially to large systems shared by numerous individuals, who need to enter a username or password before executing a program. The antonyms are log off and log out, meaning âto end a computer session.â All these expressions derive from the use of log in the nautical sense of entering information about a ship in a journal called a log book. [c. 1960]
The American HeritageÂź Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.