Log In: Meaning, Usage, and Examples

Meaning 1：Enter with credentials (log in)

/lɒɡ ɪn/

phrasal v.

To enter a computer system or website by typing your username and password.

Person typing username and password to log in on laptop

Enter with credentials 🔊

➕

/ˈɛntər wɪð krɪˈdɛnʃəlz/

phrasal v.

To access a computer system, website, or application by providing a username and password.

📁 Category：Technological Inventions 🔖 Level：beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From 'log' (record) + 'in' (into a system), originally from ship's logbook.

💡 Mnemonic

Think of a ship's log; you must 'log in' to write your daily entry.

📖 Example

Every morning, the first thing I do at the office is to log in to my computer to check my emails. 🔊 Every morning, the first thing I do at the office is to enter my computer system using my username and password to check my emails.

🔗 Collocations

log in to an account – access a personal account by entering credentials

log in with a password – use a secret code to gain system access

log in automatically – be signed into a system without manual input

🔄 Synonyms

sign in (phrasal v.) – To register one's presence or access a system by entering credentials.

authenticate (v.) – To verify the identity of a user before granting access.

access (v.) – To enter or gain entry to a computer system or network.

🚫 Antonyms

log out (phrasal v.) – To exit a computer system or website, ending the authenticated session.

sign out (phrasal v.) – To leave a system by ending one's registered session.

🌱 Derivatives

login (n.) – The act of logging in, or the username/password pair used.

logon (n.) – The process or interface for logging into a system.

📖 Cultural Story

In early computing, users kept a 'log' of their system access. 'Login' emerged as a command to enter that record, later standardized as 'log in' for authentication.