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

The conversation then goes back and forth around Pixel features that later showed up on iPhone, such as Night Sight and Night Mode, Magic Eraser and Cleanup, and homescreen widgets. —Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025

On procuring widgets and different parts components to meet supply chain needs. —Jason Lemon, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025

The days of a widget being tested on a race car and then fitted to road cars shortly afterward are mostly an artifact of the past, but there are other ways that motorsport programs make for better vehicles for the rest of us. —ArsTechnica, 2 May 2025

Dual shows a status panel and a widget; and Full shows a status panel, a widget, and the next appointment on your calendar. —PCMAG, 25 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of gadget

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for widget

• digit
• fidget
• midget