widget

American  

[wij-it] / ˈwɪdʒ ɪt /

noun

1. a small mechanical device, as a knob or switch, especially one whose name is not known or cannot be recalled; gadget.

   a row of widgets on the instrument panel.

2. something considered typical or representative, as of a manufacturer's products.

   the widgets coming off the assembly line.

3. Digital Technology. a module on a website, in an application, or in the interface of a device that allows users to access information or perform a function.

   I added a weather widget to my screen.

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widget British  

/ ˈwɪdʒɪt /

noun

1. informal any small mechanism or device, the name of which is unknown or temporarily forgotten

2. a small device in a beer can which, when the can is opened, releases nitrogen gas into the beer, giving it a head

3. a small computer program that can be installed on and executed from the desktop of a personal computer

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Etymology

Origin of widget

First recorded in 1925–30; perhaps alteration of gadget

Example Sentences

A widget helps walk through the options and will calculate how much of the investment you need to make for the desired monthly benefit.

From MarketWatch

As if health coverage is a widget the company has engineered rather than a lifeline it is cutting.

From MarketWatch

But what on earth is a widget fern?”

From Literature

In a factory, widgets travel down a conveyor belt, and workers tweak those widgets along the way.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Dodgers lost, the last domino in a cascade triggered by a front office that miscast its humans as widgets in a search for even the tiniest of edges.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• gizmo