screen saver

American

Also screensaver

noun

Computers.

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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

You can buy a third-party screen saver program that offers that feature, along with many other.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 14, 2023

That has been her screen saver for more than a year now.

From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023