access

Pluralaccesses (some meanings)

Formsaccesses, accessing, accessed

1. 1
   allowed innoununcountable

   The right or ability to enter or approach a place, or to make use of something.

   The pass gives visitors access to all the exhibits.

   Citizens demanded better access to public health services.

   UsageUsually access to something, with have, get or gain: staff have access to the files.

   Similaradmission, entry, admittance

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To gain or obtain entry to, or use of, something.

   Employees access the building using a security badge.

   Researchers accessed the archive only after signing a waiver.

   UsageNo to after the verb: access your account (not incorrect: access to your account). The noun takes to: access to it.

   Similarenter, reach, use

   Note

   The verb is young. It was first recorded in the mid-20th century, more than six centuries after the noun arrived in the early 14th century. Where older English would say gain access to, the verb now does the work in one word.

3. 3
   read dataverbtransitive

   To reach or retrieve data held by a computer.

   Only authorized programs may access this memory region.

   The server accesses the database each time a user logs in.

   Similarretrieve, read, query, consult

   Note

   In computing, to access covers reading and writing alike. A program accesses a memory location or file whenever it fetches a value or stores one. Its noun partner is the memory operation. Users often meet the word in messages about permission, as in 'I can't access most of the data on the computer without a password.'

4. 4
   way innoununcountable

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

   The fire escape provides access to the roof.

   After the storm, fallen trees blocked the only access to the campground.

   UsageUsually access to a place; also before a noun: an access road, an access point.

   Similarentrance, entry, passage, approach, route

   Note

   The word goes back to Latin accessus, 'approach', from accēdō, built from ad, 'toward', and cēdō, 'move, yield'. A way in is where that approach leads. It usually takes to (access to the roof, to the premises), and it can name the routes themselves, as in Milton's Paradise Lost (1667): 'All access was thronged.'

5. 5
   noununcountable

   A link that allows someone to connect to and communicate with a computer program or the Internet.

   The café offers free wireless access to its customers.

   Remote access lets staff log in from home.

   UsageOften follows a noun or adjective: internet access, remote access, wireless access.

   Similarconnection, connectivity

6. 6
   noununcountable

   The quality of being easy to approach, enter, or reach.

   Planners improved access to the town center for people on foot.

   The lake is popular with families because of its easy access from the main highway.

   UsageCommon in easy access and ease of access, and with verbs like improve: improve access to the town center.

   Note

   Here access is a quality: how easy a place is to reach or enter, as in easy access from the highway or ease of access for wheelchair users. Permission or the chance to get in belongs to the right or ability meaning, so widening access to university is that sense, not this one.

7. 7
   nouncountable

   An operation that reads data from or writes data to computer memory or another storage device.

   A single memory access can stall the processor if the data is not cached.

   Reducing the number of accesses to disk improves the program's speed.

   Note

   Programmers count these. Each read or write of a stored value is one access, so code can be judged by how many accesses it makes. Hans Boehm (2011) contrasts volatile objects with 'ordinary variable accesses.' The plural marks it off from the network connection, which stays uncountable. You have Internet access, but a loop performs memory accesses. Source

   Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • Reading or writing a stored value constitutes an access. open-std.org
   • Programmers can count memory accesses when evaluating code. valgrind.org
   • The cited book was first published in 2011. sites.google.com
   • Hans Boehm wrote the relevant chapter, “Threads and Shared Variables in C++”; Pankratius, Adl-Tabatabai and Tichy edited the book. api.pageplace.de
   • The passage contrasts operations on C++ volatile objects with “ordinary variable accesses,” using those exact words. en.wiktionary.org

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