V-chip

[vee-chip]

noun

a computer chip or other electronic device that blocks the reception of violent or sexually explicit television shows.

Origin of V-chip

1990–95; v(iolent) or v(iolence) + chip¹ (in the sense “a microprocessor or integrated circuit”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for v-chip

Historical Examples of v-chip

The V-chip requirement is part of the important telecommunications bill now pending in this Congress.
Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to 2006
Various

British Dictionary definitions for v-chip

V-chip

noun

a device within a television set that allows the set to be programmed not to receive transmissions that have been classified as containing sex, violence, or obscene language

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

v-chip in Culture

V-chip

A congressionally mandated embedded microchip for television sets that automatically blocks sexual or violent programming when activated.

Note

As of 2002, all TV sets sold in the United States contained a V-chip.