don
gle
Plural
dongles
1
a small hardware device that connects to a computer, smartphone, or other electronic device to provide additional functionality
- The USB dongle plugged into the laptop enables wireless internet connectivity.
- A Bluetooth dongle allows users to connect wireless peripherals to their computers.
- A TV dongle can be used to stream content from a smartphone or computer to a television screen.
- Wireless mouse and keyboard sets often come with a dongle for easy connection to a computer.
- Some software licensing systems utilize dongles to authorize and authenticate the use of the software on a particular device.