system tray

noun

The portion of the taskbar that displays the system time and icons for running processes, which can often launch menus for those processes.

Meanings

nounsystem tray (plural system trays)

plural system trays

  1. computingThe portion of the taskbar that displays the system time and icons for running processes, which can often launch menus for those processes.

    This DLL will enable us to put an icon in the system tray, control that icon while it's in the system tray, and remove it from the system tray when we're done with it.

    2008, Jonathan Morrison, C++ for VB Programmers, →ISBN, page 183
    2 more examples

    The system tray sits on the opposite end of the taskbar from the Start menu. If the taskbar is on the bottom of the screen, the system tray is on the right side of the taskbar.

    2005, Dan Gookin, PCs For Dummies Quick Reference, →ISBN, page 57

    The new System Tray API makes it possible for an application to gain access to the desktop's system tray, which presents the system time and icons of applications that interact with the system tray.

    2007, Jeff Friesen, Beginning Java SE 6 Platform: From Novice to Professional, →ISBN, page 103

Origin

From the file SysTray.exe, first appearing in Microsoft Windows 95 in 1995.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish bandeja sistémica
  • bandeja sistémicaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: system tray on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.