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.

The documentary was also never publicly released, but shown only to senior party officials in June 2012, says Dr Cheong - though it was later leaked and spread among ordinary citizens via smuggled USB drives.

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2026

The recordings came to light last July when a California state officer discovered a USB camera inside the men’s employee locker room and notified the California Highway Patrol, which launched a probe, according to prosecutors.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 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

Users record from the Toosheh satellite TV channel onto a USB stick plugged into their set-top box, which they can then decrypt using a special app installed on their phone or computer.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

His laptop is set up on the breakfast bar with a USB cord plugged into his camera.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman

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