USB-A

Technology & Computing abbreviation · Computer Hardware

USB-A
Stands forUniversal Serial Bus Type-A
CategoriesTechnology & Computing

USB-A stands for Universal Serial Bus Type-A, a computer hardware abbreviation.

Original flat, rectangular USB connector found on computers, chargers, TVs and car stereos, and on the host end of most older cables. It fits only one way up, though many people need several tries.

Example: The new laptop only has USB-C, so I need an adapter for my USB-A mouse receiver.

Usage notes

Blue plastic inside a USB-A port or plug usually signals USB 3.x SuperSpeed support, while black or white usually means USB 2.0; teal and red are also used by some makers. The running joke that a USB-A plug must be flipped three times is called "USB superposition". USB-A is gradually giving way to USB-C on laptops and phones.

More computer hardware abbreviations

  • TLC – Triple-level cell
  • TPM – Trusted Platform Module
  • TPU – Tensor Processing Unit
  • UFS – Universal Flash Storage
  • UPS – Uninterruptible power supply
  • USB – Universal Serial Bus
  • USB-B – Universal Serial Bus Type-B
  • USB-C – Universal Serial Bus Type-C
  • USB4 – Universal Serial Bus 4
  • VDU – Visual display unit
  • VGA – Video Graphics Array
  • VRAM – Video random-access memory

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