router

1 of 3

noun (1)

rout·​er ˈrau̇-tər 

: one that routs: such as

a

: a routing plane

b

: a machine with a revolving vertical spindle and cutter for milling out the surface of wood or metal

router

2 of 3

noun (2)

rout·​er ˈrü-tər  ˈrau̇- 

: one that routes

especially : a device that mediates the transmission routes of data packets over an electronic communications network (such as the Internet)

router

3 of 3

noun (3)

rout·​er ˈrü-tər  ˈrau̇- 

: a horse trained for distance races

Examples of router in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

After toying with bans on specific companies, like TP-Link, the White House decided to go after all foreign manufacturing of Wi-Fi routers, effectively pushing the entire industry to migrate the supply chain to the US. —Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 17 Apr. 2026

People should also strongly consider replacing end-of-life routers with ones that receive regular security updates. —Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 8 Apr. 2026

The camera also supports dual-band Wi-Fi 6, which should help with stability and range, particularly for installations further away from the router. —Paul Lamkin, Forbes.com, 25 Mar. 2026

Those tax breaks let developers spend money tax-free to equip a data center with pricey things like servers, routers and HVAC equipment and, in some cases, to buy the materials to build them. —Olivia Diaz, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

rout entry 4 + -er entry 2

Noun (2)

route entry 2 + -er entry 2

Noun (3)

route entry 1 (in sense "race of a mile or more") + -er entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1818, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1903, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

circa 1951, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for router

• neuter
• pewter
• scooter
• shooter
• suitor
• tutor
• commuter
• computer
• polluter
• recruiter
• microcomputer
• minicomputer

Kids Definition

router

1 of 2 noun

rout·​er ˈrau̇t-ər 

: a machine for cutting out the surface of wood or metal

router

2 of 2 noun

rout·​er ˈrüt-ər 

ˈrau̇t-

: one that routes

especially : a device that sends data from one place to another within a computer network or between computer networks