Qwerty
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A standard layout of keys on a keyboard for typing, in which the leftmost keys of the top lettered row are Q-W-E-R-T-Y. attributive, uncountable
"It was the Monotype model D keyboard introduced in 1907 which became the standard for printers, with a "qwerty" typewriter lay and removable keybars which made the keyboard independent of the matrix case arrangement."
- 2 A keyboard with such a layout. countable
"If you need to get a grip on a remote workstation, remote-control software can put your fingers on the pearly white QWERTYs of any computer, even half a world away."
- 1 Alternative letter-case form of QWERTY. alt-of, not-comparable
"It was the Monotype model D keyboard introduced in 1907 which became the standard for printers, with a "qwerty" typewriter lay and removable keybars which made the keyboard independent of the matrix case arrangement."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of QWERTY. alt-of, not-comparable
"[…] The Dvorak typewriter keyboard is, it has been claimed, ergonomically superior to the standard "Qwerty" arrangement. But having settled on the current standard keyboard, largely by historical accident, now manufacturers are supposedly reluctant to produce Dvorak keybboards so long as almost all typists are trained on Qwerty, while typists don't want to train on Dvorak when almost all keyboards are Qwerty. Even the inferior keyboard as a matched choice is superior to failing to coordinate at all."
Example
More examples"Even our computer keyboards at school use the English QWERTY layout and lack the right quotation marks for French."
Etymology
From the first six letters on one of the upper rows of such a keyboard.
Related phrases
More for "qwerty"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.