magic cookie

noun

A token or short packet of data passed between communicating programs, used to identify a particular event or transaction; the data is typically not meaningful to the recipient program and not usually interpreted until the recipient passes the data back to the sender or another program at a later time.

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Meanings

nounmagic cookie (plural magic cookies)

plural magic cookies

  1. computingA token or short packet of data passed between communicating programs, used to identify a particular event or transaction; the data is typically not meaningful to the recipient program and not usually interpreted until the recipient passes the data back to the sender or another program at a later time.

    Synonyms: cookie

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA token or short packet of data passed between communicating programs, used to identify a particular event or transaction; the data is typically not meaningful to the recipient program and not usually interpreted until the recipient passes the data back to the sender or another program at a later time.

Similar
cookie

Origin

From magic + cookie. First attested in c. 1979.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

magic cookie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/magic%20cookie

MLA

“magic cookie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/magic%20cookie. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “magic cookie,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/magic%20cookie.

Source: magic cookie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.