Word.ws English Dictionary

USB killer

USB killer noun: a device designed to send high-voltage power surges into the USB data lines of the device it is connected to, which will damage hardware components.

Noun

USB killer (plural USB killers)

  1. (computer security) A device designed to send high-voltage power surges into the USB data lines of the device it is connected to, which will damage hardware components.
    • Once fully charged, the USB killer discharges the stored power back into the connected computer (or, in fact, anything with a USB port), causing irreparable hardware damage.2020, Alan Calder, Cyber Security: Essential principles to secure your organisation, IT Governance Ltd, →ISBN, page 42

Forms of USB killer

pluralUSB killers

Questions about USB killer

What does USB killer mean?
USB killer means a device designed to send high-voltage power surges into the USB data lines of the device it is connected to, which will damage hardware components.
What part of speech is USB killer?
USB killer is a noun.
What is the plural of USB killer?
The plural of USB killer is USB killers.

Words near USB killer in the dictionary

  1. USB data blockers
  2. USB drive
  3. USB drives
  4. USB key
  5. USB keys
  6. USB killer
  7. USB killers
  8. USB modem
  9. USB modems
  10. USB port
  11. USB ports

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: USB killer (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:

Cite this entry: “USB killer.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/usb_killer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.