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shareware

American  
[shair-wair] / ˈʃɛərˌwɛər /

noun

Computers.

  1. software distributed without initial charge but for which the user is encouraged to pay a nominal fee to cover support for continued use.

shareware British  
/ ˈʃɛəˌwɛə /

noun

  1. computing software available to all users without the need for a licence and for which a token fee is requested

"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

Etymology

Origin of shareware

share 1 + -ware

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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.

"Shareware" versions of Doom may have been copied 30 million times.

From Time Magazine Archive

To the best of our knowledge, no semi-sorta-kinda-legitimate -publisher has ever put a complete pre-published 562 page book on the network as a form of Shareware.

From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Schwartau, Winn

Shareware Software that is freely available on the Net.

From Big Dummy's Guide to the Internet by Electronic Frontier Foundation

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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