dongle

[ dong-guh l, dawng‐ ]
/ ˈdɒŋ gəl, ˈdɔŋ‐ /

noun Digital Technology.

a hardware device attached to a computer without which a particular software program will not run: used to prevent unauthorized use.
Also called wire·less a·dap·ter. a device that can be plugged into a USB port to enable wireless access from a computer to an external Wi-Fi device, as a mobile phone, or to the Internet, via high-speed broadband, or to enable wireless connectivity in a printer or other peripheral.

Origin of dongle

First recorded in 1980–85; probably an arbitrary coinage

Words nearby dongle

dong, dong hai, dong quai, donga, dongen, dongle, dongola, dongola leather, dongting, donicker, donizetti

Example sentences from the Web for dongle

British Dictionary definitions for dongle

dongle
/ (ˈdɒŋɡəl) /

noun

computing an electronic device that accompanies a software item to prevent the unauthorized copying of programs