Okuzeka
Software Engineering vocabulary · APIs, Networking and Security

Password

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˈpæswɜːrd/nounCore term

In software engineering, password means: A secret string of characters that a person types to prove their identity and log in to an account, device or system.

In Turkish: parola, şifre

How it is used

An everyday word in security policies and help-desk work. Passwords are set, changed, reset and rotated, and policies define their length and complexity. Current guidance, such as NIST's, favours long passphrases over frequent forced changes.

Example sentences

  1. Your password has expired, so you'll need to reset it before you can log in.

  2. The audit found shared admin passwords stored in a spreadsheet.

Common collocations

  • reset a password
  • strong password
  • password policy
  • password manager
  • default password
  • authenticationThe process of checking who a user or system is, for example with a password, a token or a fingerprint, before giving access.
  • credentialsThe details that prove who a user is and let them log in, most often a username and password, but also keys, tokens and certificates.
  • multi-factor authenticationA login method that asks for two or more different kinds of proof, such as a password plus a code from a phone, before granting access.
  • brute-force attackAn attack that tries a huge number of passwords or keys one after another, usually automatically, until the right one is found.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: APIs, Networking and Security

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: