credentials
part of speech
noun (plural: credentials; rarely singular: a credential)
meaning for a pupil
1) Qualifications, training and experience that show someone is suitable or trustworthy for a job or role: «Her credentials as a doctor are excellent». tree →
2) Documents that prove who you are or what you are allowed to do, like an ID badge or press pass: «The guard checked his credentials». tree →
3) (computing) Your username and password used to log in: «Never share your login credentials». tree →
sense in the lessons
In online-safety lessons, credentials are your username and password; you must never give them to anyone, and real companies never ask for them by email or message (that is a scam called «phishing»). In everyday life and news, people «show their credentials» to prove they are real officials, and we check the credentials of experts before trusting them. Phrases: «login credentials», «check credentials», «impressive credentials», «green credentials» (how environmentally friendly something is).
examples
- Never share your login credentials with anyone online. tree →
- The police officer showed her credentials before coming in. tree →
- The new coach has great credentials: he played for England. tree →
- The company boasts about its green credentials. tree →
- Check the author's credentials before you trust a website. tree →
- Reporters wear their press credentials around their necks. tree →
- A scam email may ask for your credentials, so don't reply. tree →
note
Almost always plural: credentials. Related to «credible» (believable) and «credit», from Latin «credere», to believe. In computing, credentials can also be keys or tokens, not only passwords. A strong password plus two-step verification keeps credentials safe.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «credentials» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.