Definition of access
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: permission, liberty, or ability to enter, approach, or pass to and from a place or to approach or communicate with a person or thing
Investigators wanted to get access to his home. consultants who have easy access to the president
b
: freedom or ability to obtain or make use of something
paying for access to the Internet
c
: a way or means of entering or approaching
A canal provides access to the river. a building that provides wheelchair access [=a way for people in wheelchairs to enter]
d
: the act or an instance of accessing something
2a
: onset sense 2
an access of illness
b
: a fit of intense feeling : outburst
If it had been in Tito's nature to feel an access of rage, he would have felt it against this bull-faced accomplice.— George Eliot
3
: an increase by addition
a sudden access of wealth
access
verb
accessed; accessing; accesses
Definition of access (Entry 2 of 2)
: to get at : to gain access to: such as
a
: to be able to use, enter, or get near (something)
accessed the computer by phone a system that makes it easier to access the money in your bank account
b
: to open or load (a computer file, an Internet site, etc.)
a file that can be accessed by many users at the same time
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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The first known use of access was in the 14th century
See more words from the same century