Added 9 October 2026
password
/ˈpæs.wɜɹd/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about password at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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A word relayed to a person to gain admittance to a place or to gain access to information.
Only if a would-be visitor knew the password du jour could he pass; the guards allowed no exceptions.
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A string of characters used to log in to a computer or network, to access a level in a video game, and so on; archetypally a word but nowadays often an alphanumeric string or a phrase.
A strong password has a mixture of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and punctuation marks.
verb
- To protect with a password.
Origin
From pass + word. The sentry-passing sense predates the cryptographic sense and was its inspiration.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)