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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• screen savers
  plural

Example Sentences

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

His smartphone’s screen saver flashed a photo of his smiling teenage daughter, still living in North Korea.

From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2023

He jiggled the mouse beside his keyboard to get rid of the screen saver.

From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore