access

A way or means of approaching or entering; an entrance; a passage.

Noun

  1. A way or means of approaching or entering; an entrance; a passage.
    • The door provides access to the premises.
    • All access was thronged. - 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias...
  2. The act of approaching or entering; an advance.
    • They gained access to the basement from the stairs.
  3. The right or ability of approaching or entering; admittance; admission; accessibility.
    • Staff prevent unauthorized access to the building.
  4. The quality of being easy to approach or enter.
    • ease of access
    • I did repel his fetters, and denied His access to me. - c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […]...
    • Coalition plans to widen access to university will fail to get to the 'root cause' of the problem, according to the Russell Group. - 2011 September 20, Graeme Paton, “University access plan 'will fail', says Russell...
  5. Admission to sexual intercourse.
    • During coverture, access of the husband shall be presumed, unless the contrary be shown. - 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […]...
  6. An increase by addition; accession
    • an access of territory
    • I, from the influence of thy looks, receive access in every virtue. - 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […];...
  7. An onset, attack, or fit of disease; an ague fit.
    • The first access looked like an apoplexy. - a. 1716 (date written), [Gilbert] Burnet, edited by [Gilbert Burnet Jr.], Bishop Burnet’s History of His Own Time. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […]...
    • Then he resumed the pose, the decent pose, from which the sudden access of his old trouble had startled him, his hands on his knees, […] - 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:
  8. An outburst of an emotion; a paroxysm; a fit of passion.
    • The Magpie's flashlight, as he shifted it from his right hand to his left and wrenched out his revolver, had fallen upon two men crouched close against the wall by the library door—and he screamed out in an access of...
    • It appears that, about the middle of the fourth century of the Christian Era, the Germans in the Roman service started the new practice of retaining their native names; and this change of etiquette, which seems to have...
  9. The right of a noncustodial parent to visit their child.
  10. The process of locating data in memory.
    • Operations on C++ volatiles do put the compiler on notice that the object may be modified asynchronously, and hence are generally safer to use than ordinary variable accesses. - 2011, Victor Pankratius, Ali-Reza...
  11. Connection to or communication with a computer program or to the Internet.
  12. Complicity or assent.

Origin

From Middle English accesse, acces, borrowed from Middle French acces (“attack, onslaught”) or from its source Latin accessus, perfect passive participle of accēdō (“approach; accede”), from ad (“to, toward, at”) + cēdō (“move, yield”). Doublet of accessus. First attested in the early 14th century. The sense "entrance" was first attested about 1380.

Forms

accesses

Related

accede accessary accessibility accessible accessibly accession accessory

Derived

access agent access code access control access course access day access journalism accessless access method access modifier accessor access point access road access specifier access time access token access violation accessway anti-access area denial controlled-access highway data access object direct access e-access inaccess limited-access highway

Verb

  1. To gain or obtain access to.
    • The value of having in-house medical expertise is that staff with poor attendance records who have difficulty accessing NHS services can receive support from their employer, to help reduce absenteeism brought about by...
  2. To have access to (data).
    • I can't access most of the data on the computer without a password.

Origin

First attested in 1962.

Forms

accesses accessing accessed

Derived

deaccess reaccess unaccessed