widget

noun

wid·​get ˈwi-jət 

1

: gadget

2

: an unnamed article considered for purposes of hypothetical example

3

: a small software application that is designed to provide a specific piece of information (such as news, weather, or traffic updates) or a specific function (such as taking notes or controlling another application) on demand

This resource allows anglers to see what advisories are in effect in specific waterways … . The web page is optimized for mobile devices, with a widget that allows users to zoom to their exact location on the map with the press of a button.

—Chris Knauss

A widget might show you the weather forecast, or the latest baseball scores. There are widgets that show photographs you've stored online, or that cull images from the Daily Puppy Web site.

—Rob Walker

Synonyms

• appliance
• contraption
• contrivance
• gadget
• gimmick
• gizmo
• gismo
• jigger

Examples of widget in a Sentence

manufacturers of all kinds of widgets for the do-it-yourselfer

Recent Examples on the Web

On the Echo Show 15, the widgets are constantly onscreen thanks to the large real estate, and there's a widget panel that can fit up to 10 widgets. —Nena Farrell, WIRED, 29 Mar. 2024

An Entertainment widget surfaces new movies and TV shows, and the Family widget is good for those who use Microsoft Family Safety parental controls tools. —PCMAG, 22 Mar. 2024

Associated Press widgets are live-updating and may reflect more recent results. —Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2024

The company also rolled out its Ambient Experience to more devices: the mode that can display widgets and other glanceable information when Fire TV streaming products are idle. —Chris Welch, The Verge, 14 Nov. 2023

There's no link to your online gallery from the application, and the only sharing options are email, Twitter, and web widgets. —PCMAG, 26 Mar. 2024

Studios tended to categorize movies as business widgets with finite shelf lives, rather than as cultural works deserving of posterity. —Dan Barry, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024

The discerning leader will recognize this interplay of conditions and perception is also how far more complex forms come about, from widgets to buildings to social networks and democracies. —Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

To pull it off, global auto manufacturers generally maintain relationships with thousands of suppliers responsible for their own individual hardware or software widgets. —Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 28 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of gadget

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined at sense 1