USB

American

abbreviation

Computers.

universal serial bus: an external serial bus interface standard for connecting peripheral devices to a computer, as in a or .

USB British

abbreviation

Universal Serial Bus: a standard for connection sockets on computers and other electronic equipment

"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 USB

First recorded in 1995

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.

Detectives are now studying computers, USB sticks, SD cards and phones seized during the raids.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

Sitting in his home with other family members and a reporter, Al-Saadi brought out hard drives, USB sticks and a laptop with dozens of files from security cameras.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

"Just as a USB adapter allows devices with different connectors to work together, Floquet magnons could bridge frequencies that would otherwise remain incompatible."

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026

More than a dozen USB chargers overheated, including one that reached 216 degrees Fahrenheit, just above the boiling temperature of water.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

Memory is not a dispensable resource that can be outsourced to USB sticks or even libraries; memory is the stuff we think with.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

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