dongle
UK/ˈdɒŋɡl̩//ˈdɑŋɡl̩/
dongle noun: any small device that plugs into an electronic device, typically a computer, and alters its functionality. Common examples include wireless modems, digital media players, software copy protect devices, and adapters.
Noun
dongle (plural dongles)
- Any small device that plugs into an electronic device, typically a computer, and alters its functionality. Common examples include wireless modems, digital media players, software copy protect devices, and adapters.
- FreedomPop will offer three different flavors of broadband: a USB dongle that allows you to connect your computer to the internet, a WiFi hotspot device, and an iPhone case that allows you to override the phone's existing network and use it as a FreedomPop hotspot.2012, Tecca, FreedomPop offering 1GB of free wireless data, hopes you’ll pay for more, via Yahoo! Tech, link
- A hardware device used by a specific application for purposes of copy protection.
- Take the dongle, for example. It is the summit of copy protection, an explicit melding of software and hardware. Without the right hardware key—the dongle—plugged into the machine's parallel port, the software won't run.1997 April 1, David McCandless, “Warez Wars”, in Wired, →ISSN
dongle meaning in Tamil
dongle in Tamil
- வன்பூட்டு
Forms of dongle
| plural | dongles |
|---|
Origin of dongle
Unknown. Likely a descendant of dangle, reflecting that electronic accessories such as computer peripherals often are plugged in via a flexible cable (although wirelessness is also often relevant). Claims that the word comes from a man named "Don Gall" were made up by an advertisement. First usage 1980-1985.
Words formed from dongle
Words that rhyme with dongle
Questions about dongle
- What does dongle mean?
- Dongle means any small device that plugs into an electronic device, typically a computer, and alters its functionality. Common examples include wireless modems, digital media players, software copy protect devices, and adapters.
- What is dongle in Tamil?
- Dongle in Tamil is வன்பூட்டு. See Dongle meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is dongle?
- Dongle is a noun.
- How do you pronounce dongle?
- Dongle is pronounced /ˈdɒŋɡl̩/ (UK).
- What is the plural of dongle?
- The plural of dongle is dongles.
Words near dongle in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: dongle (page history and authors); dongle (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-dongle.ogg.
Cite this entry: “dongle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dongle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.