screen saver

American  

Also screensaver

noun

Computers.

screen savers plural

1. a program that displays a constantly shifting pattern on a screen when the computer is idle, originally used to prevent damage to the screen through continuous display of the same image but now used primarily for decoration.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• screen savers
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

screen saver

It has the feel of a soothingly looped AI screen saver, a trance-inducing spell where nothing matters so long as your high heels aren’t hurting your feet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2026

The scoreboard might as well have switched to a screen saver.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2025

Much of his current research uses digital stimuli of nature, such as a screen saver, to test a person’s emotions.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2023

Q: I recall one could opt to have the file name displayed along with the picture being shown in the screen saver.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2023

The screen saver is the flying leopard and the meerkat that I drew, and Ray and I animated.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko