killer app

noun

: a computer application of such great value or popularity that it assures the success of the technology with which it is associated
broadly : a feature or component that in itself makes something worth having or using

Examples of killer app in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Entrepreneurship is the secret sauce — the ‘killer app’ — of the American economy. Ted Tucker, National Review, 22 June 2025 Considering the size and strength of that library, this already gives the Switch 2 an enormous advantage, a killer app, out of the gate. Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 5 June 2025 That’s a killer app for a very small percentage of the population (such as people dealing with paralysis or blindness). IEEE Spectrum, 13 Nov. 2017 But the real killer app of the story, adapted by Chris and Paul Weitz, is the snarky worldview of the artificial life form at its center. James Poniewozik, New York Times, 14 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for killer app

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of killer app was in 1988

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Cite this Entry

“Killer app.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/killer%20app. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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