password

American  

[pas-wurd, pahs-] / ˈpæsˌwɜrd, ˈpɑs- /

noun

passwords plural

1. a secret word or expression used by authorized persons to prove their right to access, information, etc.

   Synonyms:

   watchword

2. a word or other string of characters, sometimes kept secret or confidential, that must be supplied by a user in order to gain full or partial access to a computer, computer system, or electronic device.

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password British  

/ ˈpɑːsˌwɜːd /

noun

1. a secret word, phrase, etc, that ensures admission or acceptance by proving identity, membership, etc

2. an action, quality, etc, that gains admission or acceptance

3. a sequence of characters used to gain access to a computer system

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• passwords
  plural

Etymology

Origin of password

First recorded in 1810–20; pass + word

Explanation

A password is a word — or a series of letters or numbers — that's kept secret. You might need a password to get into your brother's clubhouse or to use your friend's laptop. During World War II, soldiers used passwords to enter guarded areas; these were words or phrases (and responses) that only other Allied soldiers knew. Today, you're more likely to use a password for protecting an electronic device, for withdrawing money from a bank machine, or for logging into your email or social media account. The original meaning of password, from the late 1700s, was "word used to distinguish friend from foe."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

password passwords

That pushed the company to delve into other areas including advertising, cracking down on password sharing and gaming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

Sharing Isn’t Caring: Even though AI companies frown on chatbot password sharing, people still do it, leading to embarrassing discoveries, personal data mix-ups and even cybersecurity issues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

One says their manager had changed their password to lock them out.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

In my family, we have a password to be used to identify ourselves.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

Then he remembered that he didn’t know the password.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

I’d bet cash that the new top reasons for divorce are forgotten passwords and not showing enough sympathy when your spouse is on hold for 83 minutes and counting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

It turns out, chatbot passwords deserve a bit more protection than a Netflix login.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

While on the call, he logged into the online platform, but he said he was not suspicious: "They didn't ask me for any passwords, they didn't ask me for any verification codes".

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

VPNs protect sensitive data, such as passwords and financial information, from falling into the wrong hands.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026

“I made him tell me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps changing them, and now I don’t know what I’ve done with them!”

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• identification