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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Is there a killer app that unlocks even more productivity from the hardware? Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025 Like a killer app, the horse at first seemed to offer huge advantages and immediate benefits. Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 6 July 2025 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 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 9 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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