What does "darknet" mean?

A network of computers that can only be accessed using special software, configuration, or authorization, usually characterized by the anonymization of users, participating hosts, or both.

Darknet

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A network of computers that can only be accessed using special software, configuration, or authorization, usually characterized by the anonymization of users, participating hosts, or both. Internet
"Despite all the openness of the Internet, there are still places you cannot saunter into on the Web. You must be invited. These are “darknets”: exclusive peer-to-peer networks in which membership is based on circles of trust, whose activities are veiled from the general public."

Example

More examples

"Despite all the openness of the Internet, there are still places you cannot saunter into on the Web. You must be invited. These are “darknets”: exclusive peer-to-peer networks in which membership is based on circles of trust, whose activities are veiled from the general public."

Etymology

From dark + net.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.