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

The Burglar: Bots have proven very good at finding login credentials, which sometimes people inadvertently leave open on the internet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

It conducts the initial research about the organization being targeted, discovers email accounts belonging to executives, then builds a phishing attack to steal their email login credentials, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 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

By evening, the student said the login process was updated to redirect users to a page that said Canvas was “undergoing scheduled maintenance.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

Then the computer shut itself off and I had to power it back on to get the login prompt again.

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

Many demand full access to account logins and impose fines on creators who try to leave contracts early.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

BNY, for example, said it employs dozens of AI ‘digital employees’ that have company logins and human managers, many of whom go by the name Eliza, named after the wife of BNY founder Alexander Hamilton.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

You can still be tracked through cookies, browser fingerprinting, account logins and other methods.

From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025

Telnet ——— A program on the Internet that allows logins to another computer to run software there.

From The Online World by Odd De Presno