screen saver

American

Also screensaver

noun

Computers.

a program that displays a constantly shifting pattern on a screen when the computer is idle, originally used to prevent damage to the screen through continuous display of the same image but now used primarily for decoration.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It has the feel of a soothingly looped AI screen saver, a trance-inducing spell where nothing matters so long as your high heels aren’t hurting your feet.

From Los Angeles Times

The screen saver is the flying leopard and the meerkat that I drew, and Ray and I animated.

From Literature

Rosner’s imagery is abstract and often looks like the computer graphics you might choose for a screen saver, but better, brilliantly colored and alive.

From Los Angeles Times

The scoreboard might as well have switched to a screen saver.

From The Wall Street Journal

Someone describes it as like being inside a screen saver.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023