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URL

American  

abbreviation

Computers.
  1. Uniform Resource Locator: a protocol for specifying addresses on the internet.

  2. an address that identifies a particular file on the internet, usually consisting of the protocol, as http, followed by the domain name.


URL British  

abbreviation

  1. uniform resource locator; a standardized address of a location on the internet, esp on the World Wide Web

"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

URL Scientific  
/ yo̅o̅′är-ĕl /
  1. Short for Uniform Resource Locator. An Internet address (for example, http://www.hmco.com/trade/), usually consisting of the access protocol (http), the domain name (www.hmco.com), and optionally the path to a file or resource residing on that server (trade).


URL Cultural  
  1. An abbreviation for U niversal R esource L ocator, a title that refers to the formal address of a document on the Internet.


Etymology

Origin of URL

First recorded in 1990–95

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.

The authors then looked at the type of device used to make the unsafe URL requests.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025

An attempt was made to access the URL as early as 05:16.

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025

On the new computer, I typed the URL Cathy provided me into the browser.

From Slate • Aug. 4, 2025

Each chef who is on the site has their own URL.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2025

Then I disable my browser’s history, and type in the URL with trembling fingers.

From "Legend" by Marie Lu