widget

[wij-it] /ˈwɪdʒ ɪt/
noun
1.
a small mechanical device, as a knob or switch, especially one whose name is not known or cannot be recalled; gadget:
a row of widgets on the instrument panel.
2.
something considered typical or representative, as of a manufacturer's products:
the widgets coming off the assembly line.
Origin
1925-30; perhaps alteration of gadget
Examples from the web for widgets
  • Factories take time to build, and can carry on cranking out widgets for years.
  • Moreover, the production of these widgets is not closely related to the number of local employees.
  • The growth of social media and widgets that let readers rank stories could surely help this to develop.
  • Kin phones have a browser and can access social networking sites through widgets.
  • The display allows for quick access to widgets such as weather and email.
  • But unlike other big-ticket corporations, it doesn't have an inventory of widgets or gadgets, cars or phones.
  • But it uses a lot of memory to throw those widgets on the side of the screen and make icons transparent.
  • Fine and dandy if you are selling widgets, but access to health care is different than access to widgets.
  • These prose-widgets are not hammered out by robots, surprisingly.
  • widgets are the best inventions since the telephone.
British Dictionary definitions for widgets

widget

/ˈwɪdʒɪt/
noun
1.
(informal) any small mechanism or device, the name of which is unknown or temporarily forgotten
2.
a small device in a beer can which, when the can is opened, releases nitrogen gas into the beer, giving it a head
3.
a small computer program that can be installed on and executed from the desktop of a personal computer
Word Origin
C20: changed from gadget
Word Origin and History for widgets

widget

n.

"gadget, small manufactured item," c.1920, American English, probably an alteration of gadget, perhaps based on which it.

Slang definitions & phrases for widgets

widget

modifier

: as though it were read aloud from the press release of a widget manufacturer

noun

A mechanical, electrical, or electronic device; gadget, gizmo: It's three floors of sights, sounds, illusions, movements, gadgets, widgets, and gizmos/ not an activity I would recommend to anyone daunted by a widgit more complicated than a stapler (1920+)

[an alteration of gadget, perhaps based on hypothetical which it on the model of whatzit and whoozis]