English Reference
Word noun

URL

n.
US /ˈʊɹɫ/
Definition
  1. 01 B1 Intermediate Technical Computing

    Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It is the full address used to find a specific page or file on the internet.

    Abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator. A character string that constitutes a reference to an internet resource, specifying its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it.

    Simple

    “You can share the video by copying the URL from your browser and sending it to your friends.”

    In context

    “The developer noticed that the URL contained several unnecessary parameters which made the link difficult for users to read and share.”

    Usage

    Usually treated as a countable noun; often preceded by 'the'.

    Teacher's tip

    While 'web address' is more common in casual conversation, URL is the standard term in technical or professional digital contexts.

    Synonyms
    linkweb addressaddress
Etymology

An initialism for Uniform Resource Locator, coined by Tim Berners-Lee in 1994. It was developed as a standard syntax for identifying resources on the World Wide Web, following the earlier model of the Universal Document Identifier.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B1 · Intermediate
Updated