password

password — noun

1. a private word, phrase, or code that confirms who you are before you can enter a

1.nounB1
Definition

a private word, phrase, or code that confirms who you are before you can enter a building, account, device, or system

Example

Lina changed her email password after a stranger entered her account.

collocation: change your password

The guard asked for the password before opening the back gate.

spoken password at a guarded entrance

Common collocations
  • enter your password
  • change your password
  • Wi-Fi password
  • temporary password
  • password-protected file
Synonyms
  • passcode

    often suggests a number-based code for a phone, door, or similar device

  • PIN

    a much narrower term for a short identification number

  • passphrase

    usually a longer string made from several words

  • code

    a broad informal word that can refer to many kinds of secret signals

Grammar Patterns

enter your password

change your password

password for [account]

Usage Note

Usually countable and most often used after verbs like enter, type, change, forget, and reset. In older security contexts, it can also be a spoken word that lets someone pass a guard or gate.

Common Mistakes

The app asked me to write my password.
The app asked me to enter my password.
for apps and websites, English usually says 'enter' or 'type' a password.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun sense 1, password is the general everyday word for secret information that lets you enter a system, device, account, or protected place. Passcode is close, but it often suggests numbers, especially on phones, doors, or lockers. PIN is narrower still: it is a short personal identification number used at cash machines, card readers, or secure doors. Passphrase usually means a longer group of words and is common in security advice. Code is the loosest option and can describe many kinds of secret number or signal, not only login information. You enter a password for email, a PIN at an ATM, and a passcode to unlock a phone.

passcodePIN ↗passphrasecode ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • password field
  • password hint
  • password manager
  • password reset

Phrases

  • enter your password
  • set a password
  • forgot your password
  • protect with a password

Prepositions

Etymology

English

Password is an English compound of pass and word. It first meant a secret spoken word that let someone go past a guard, and later widened to the secret code used for computers, phones, and online accounts.