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
Stablecoins: The Quiet Revolution While Bitcoin gets the headlines, stablecoins have become crypto’s fastest growing killer app.
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Boaz Sobrado, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
However, any true killer app would probably dispense with the existing business model altogether and replace it with an entirely new model, one that might start in a small niche and grow to take over commercial aviation.
—IEEE Spectrum, 29 Nov. 2011
When the Internet was young, no one knew what the killer app might be.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Oct. 2020
Indeed, no killer app — such as the electronic spreadsheet — which gave people a reason to buy personal computers back in the 1980s — or the iTunes store that boosted sales of the iPod in 2003 — has emerged for generative AI.
—Peter Cohan, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for killer app
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Boaz Sobrado, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
However, any true killer app would probably dispense with the existing business model altogether and replace it with an entirely new model, one that might start in a small niche and grow to take over commercial aviation.
—IEEE Spectrum, 29 Nov. 2011
When the Internet was young, no one knew what the killer app might be.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Oct. 2020
Indeed, no killer app — such as the electronic spreadsheet — which gave people a reason to buy personal computers back in the 1980s — or the iTunes store that boosted sales of the iPod in 2003 — has emerged for generative AI.
—Peter Cohan, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for killer app
Cite this Entry
“Killer app.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/killer%20app. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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