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definitions

router

1
[rou-ter]
|

noun

any of various tools or machines for routing, hollowing out, or furrowing.
Also called router plane. Carpentry. a plane for cutting interior angles, as at the bottom of a groove.
a machine or tool for cutting into or below a main surface, as of a die or engraving plate.

verb (used with object)

to cut with a router.

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Origin of router

1
First recorded in 1840–50; rout2 + -er1

router

2
[roo-ter, rou-]

noun

a person or thing that routes.
a piece of hardware or software having a specific IP address and connected to network nodes for the transfer of data between computers.

Origin of router

2
First recorded in 1900–05; route + -er1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for router

Contemporary Examples of router

Historical Examples of router

  • This can be done with socket chisel and mallet, or with a router.

    Carpentry and Woodwork

    Edwin W. Foster

  • To a fellow I saw up there—Mr. 'Router', I think he said was his name.

    The Burial of the Guns

    Thomas Nelson Page

  • In addition to the above tools, carvers occasionally use one called a "Router."

    Wood-Carving

    George Jack

  • A router, for cleaning out and smoothing the bottoms of grooves and depressions, is very useful at times.

    Woodworking for Beginners

    Charles Gardner Wheeler

  • Router and Brown Willy stood like grim sentinels watching over the scene.

    The Day of Judgment

    Joseph Hocking

British Dictionary definitions for router

router

1

noun

any of various tools or machines for hollowing out, cutting grooves, etc

router

2

noun

computing a device that allows packets of data to be moved efficiently between two points on a network
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
Word Origin and History for router
n.

"cutter that removes wood from a groove," 1818, from rout "poke about, rummage" (1540s), originally of swine digging with the snout; a variant of root (v.1).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science definitions for router

router

[rou′tər]

A device in a network that handles message transfers between computers. A router receives information and forwards it based on what the router determines to be the most efficient route at the time of transfer.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.