Meanings
nounpassword (plural passwords)
plural passwords · alternative archaic pass-word
- securitygovernmentA word relayed to a person to gain admittance to a place or to gain access to information.
Only if a would-be visitor knew the password du jour could he pass; the guards allowed no exceptions.
1 more example
Now, Max, by what combination of circumstances is a rogue to know my password, to be able to forge my signature, to possess himself of my key, and to resemble me personally? And, finally, how is he possibly to determine beforehand whether there is anything in my safe to repay so elaborate a plant?
1914, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados - computingA string of characters used to log in to a computer or network, to access a level in a video game, and so on; archetypally a word but nowadays often an alphanumeric string or a phrase.
A strong password has a mixture of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and punctuation marks.
verbpassword (third-person singular simple present passwords, present participle passwording, simple past and past participle passworded)
present singular third person passwords · participle present passwording · participle past passworded · past passworded · alternative archaic pass-word
- transitivecomputingTo protect with a password.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA string of characters used to log in to a computer or network, to access a level in a video game, and so on; archetypally a word but nowadays often an alphanumeric string or a phrase.
cryptographic key
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
nouna secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From pass + word. The sentry-passing sense predates the cryptographic sense and was its inspiration.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans wagwoord, wagwoord
- wagwoordword used to gain admittance
- wagwoordcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Ancient Greek σύνθημα
- σύνθημα (súnthēma)word used to gain admittance
Arabic كَلِمَةُ سِرّ, كَلِمَةُ مُرُور
- كَلِمَةُ سِرّ (kalimatu sirr)word used to gain admittance
- كَلِمَةُ مُرُور (kalimatu murūr)computing: string of characters known only to a user
- كَلِمَةُ سِرّ (kalimatu sirr)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Basque pasahitza
- pasahitzacomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Bengali পাসওয়ার্ড, পাসওয়ার্ড
- পাসওয়ার্ড (paśōẇarḍo)word used to gain admittance
- পাসওয়ার্ড (paśōẇarḍo)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Bulgarian паро́ла, паро́ла
- паро́ла (paróla)word used to gain admittance
- паро́ла (paróla)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Catalan contrasenya, contrasenya
- contrasenyaword used to gain admittance
- contrasenyacomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Chinese Mandarin 密碼 /密码, 口令
- 密碼 /密码 (mìmǎ)word used to gain admittance
- 口令 (kǒulìng)word used to gain admittance
- 密碼 /密码 (mìmǎ)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Czech heslo, heslo
- hesloword used to gain admittance
- heslocomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Danish kodeord, løsen
- kodeordword used to gain admittance
- løsenword used to gain admittance
- feltråbword used to gain admittance
- kodeordcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- adgangskodecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- passwordcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Dutch wachtwoord, wachtwoord
- wachtwoordword used to gain admittance
- wachtwoordcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Esperanto pasvorto, pasvorto
- pasvortoword used to gain admittance
- pasvortocomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Estonian salasõna, parool
- salasõnaword used to gain admittance
- paroolword used to gain admittance
- salasõnacomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- paroolcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Finnish tunnussana, salasana
- tunnussanaword used to gain admittance
- salasanaword used to gain admittance
- salasanacomputing: string of characters known only to a user
French mot de passe, mot d'ordre
- mot de passeword used to gain admittance
- mot d'ordreword used to gain admittance
- mot de passecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
German Codewort, Passwort
- Codewortword used to gain admittance
- Passwortword used to gain admittance
- Paroleword used to gain admittance
- Kennwortword used to gain admittance
- Passwortcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Greek συνθηματικό, κωδικός
- συνθηματικό (synthimatikó)word used to gain admittance
- κωδικός (kodikós)word used to gain admittance
- κωδικός (kodikós)computing: string of characters known only to a user
- συνθηματικό (synthimatikó)computing: string of characters known only to a user
- κωδικός πρόσβασης (kodikós prósvasis)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Hebrew סִיסְמָה, סִיסְמָה
- סִיסְמָה (sismá)word used to gain admittance
- סִיסְמָה (sismá)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Hindi पासवर्ड, पासवर्ड
- पासवर्ड (pāsvarḍ)word used to gain admittance
- पासवर्ड (pāsvarḍ)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Hungarian jelszó, jelszó
- jelszóword used to gain admittance
- jelszócomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Icelandic lykilorð, lykilorð
- lykilorðword used to gain admittance
- lykilorðcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- leyniorðcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- aðgangsorðcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Indonesian kata sandi, kata sandi
- kata sandiword used to gain admittance
- kata sandicomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- sandicomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Irish focal faire, pasfhocal
- focal faireword used to gain admittance
- pasfhocalword used to gain admittance
- focal fairecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- pasfhocalcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Italian parola d'ordine, parola chiave
- parola d'ordineword used to gain admittance
- parola chiaveword used to gain admittance
- parola chiavecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- passwordcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- parola d'ordinecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- parola d'accessocomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Japanese パスワード, 合言葉
- パスワード (pasuwādo)word used to gain admittance
- 合言葉 (aikotoba)word used to gain admittance
- パスワード (pasuwādo)computing: string of characters known only to a user
- 合言葉 (aikotoba)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Korean 암호, 군호
- 암호 (amho)word used to gain admittance
- 군호 (gunho)word used to gain admittance
- 패스워드 (paeseuwodeu)word used to gain admittance
- 비밀번호 (bimilbeonho)word used to gain admittance
- 비번 (bibeon)word used to gain admittance
- 열쇠글 (yeolsoegeul)word used to gain admittance
- 암호 (amho)computing: string of characters known only to a user
- 비밀번호 (bimilbeonho)computing: string of characters known only to a user
- 통과암호 (tonggwaamho)computing: string of characters known only to a user
- 패스워드 (paeseuwodeu)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Latvian parole, parole
- paroleword used to gain admittance
- parolecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Lithuanian slaptažodis, slaptažodis
- slaptažodisword used to gain admittance
- slaptažodiscomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Malay kata laluan, kata laluan
- kata laluanword used to gain admittance
- kata laluancomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Māori kupu karanga, kupu whakahipa
- kupu karangaword used to gain admittance
- kupu whakahipaword used to gain admittance
- kupuhipaword used to gain admittance
- kupuuruword used to gain admittance
Norwegian Bokmål passord, passord
- passordword used to gain admittance
- passordcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Polish hasło, parol
- hasłoword used to gain admittance
- parolword used to gain admittance
- hasłocomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Portuguese senha, palavra-passe
- senhaword used to gain admittance
- palavra-passeword used to gain admittance
- senhacomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- palavra-passecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- passwordcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- palavra-chavecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Romanian parolă, parolă
- parolăword used to gain admittance
- parolăcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Russian паро́ль, паро́ль
- паро́ль (parólʹ)word used to gain admittance
- паро́ль (parólʹ)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Scottish Gaelic facal-faire, facal-faire
- facal-faireword used to gain admittance
- facal-fairecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Slovak heslo, heslo
- hesloword used to gain admittance
- heslocomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Spanish contraseña, santo y seña
- contraseñaword used to gain admittance
- santo y señaword used to gain admittance
- contraseñacomputing: string of characters known only to a user
- palabra clavecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Swahili nywila, nywila
- nywilaword used to gain admittance
- nywilacomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Swedish lösen, lösenord
- lösenword used to gain admittance
- lösenordword used to gain admittance
- lösenordcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Tagalog password
- passwordcomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Tamil கடவுச்சொல், கடவுச்சொல்
- கடவுச்சொல் (kaṭavuccol)word used to gain admittance
- கடவுச்சொல் (kaṭavuccol)computing: string of characters known only to a user
- பாஸ்வேர்ட் (pāsvērṭ)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Thai รหัสผ่าน, รหัส
- รหัสผ่าน (rá-hàt-pàan)word used to gain admittance
- รหัส (rá-hàt)word used to gain admittance
- รหัสผ่าน (rá-hàt-pàan)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Turkish parola, şifre
- parolaword used to gain admittance
- şifrecomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Ukrainian паро́ль, паро́ля
- паро́ль (parólʹ)word used to gain admittance
- паро́ля (parólja)word used to gain admittance
- га́сло (háslo)word used to gain admittance
- паро́ль (parólʹ)computing: string of characters known only to a user
- паро́ля (parólja)computing: string of characters known only to a user
- га́сло (háslo)computing: string of characters known only to a user
Urdu پاسْوَرْڈ, پاس وَرْڈ
- پاسْوَرْڈ (pāsvarḍ)word used to gain admittance
- پاس وَرْڈ (pās varḍ)word used to gain admittance
- پار لَفْظ (pār lafz)word used to gain admittance
- شَناخْتی لَفْظ (śanāxtī lafz)word used to gain admittance
- خُفِیَہ لَفْظ (xufiya lafz)word used to gain admittance
- گُزَر لَفْظ (guzar lafz)word used to gain admittance
- کَلْمَۂ شَناخْت (kalma-yi śanāxt)word used to gain admittance
Vietnamese mật khẩu, mật khẩu
- mật khẩuword used to gain admittance
- mật khẩucomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Welsh cyfrinair
- cyfrinaircomputing: string of characters known only to a user
Cite this entry
APA
password. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/password
MLA
“password.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/password. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “password,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/password.
Source: password on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.