password

American  

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

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of password

First recorded in 1810–20; pass + word

Example Sentences

If they’re using the same passwords everywhere, no matter how strong, they will get hacked.

From The Wall Street Journal

It might have been for his own good if England team-mate Harry Brook's passwords were changed before he got back to his Adelaide hotel room on Saturday night.

From BBC

So if I have it on my computer and it’s password protected, I can be really honest.

From Los Angeles Times

How annoying would it be to lose a job, and computer access, then have to reset a slew of usernames and passwords on top of everything?

From The Wall Street Journal

He said the files were accessed due to "carelessness", using passwords shared on messaging apps.

From Barron's

Related Words

• identification