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local area network
noun
: a network of personal computers in a small area (such as an office) for sharing resources (such as a printer) or exchanging data
called also LAN
Examples of local area network in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ethernet gave rise to local area networks (LANs), which by the end of the 1970s let users share files within homes or offices.
—Quanta Magazine, 25 Nov. 2024
History of Ethernet First created in 1973 by a group of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) engineers, including Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs, Ethernet allowed people to connect multiple computers in a local area network (LAN).
—Simon Hill, WIRED, 20 Apr. 2023
For example, it is currently engaged in trying to push its own standards for software encryption and wireless local area networks as global International Organization for Standardization standards.
—Elizabeth Economy, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2010
Because someone could unsuspectingly infect a machine this way, letting the worm proliferate over local area networks, experts feared that the malware had perhaps gone wild across the world.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 Feb. 2013
Additionally, place administrative systems in separate virtual local area networks (VLANs) and block all unauthorized traffic from network devices destined for non-administrative VLANs.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 27 Sep. 2023
Create VLANs Creating a virtual local area network is the best practice for designing a secure and efficient network infrastructure.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
What is WiFi 5? WiFi 5 is the fifth generation of the WiFi wireless local area network standard.
—Harry Guinness, Popular Science, 26 July 2023
In order to access this information on the go, the app’s developers also created a portable backpack kit that acts as a local area network without connections to the broader Internet.
—Rina Diane Caballar, Scientific American, 7 June 2023
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Word History
First Known Use
1969, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of local area network was
in 1969
Dictionary Entries Near local area network
Cite this Entry
“Local area network.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/local%20area%20network. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
local area network
noun
: a computer network that spans a small area (as an office building)
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