capt·cha
(kăp′chə) Computers n. A security feature, as on a webpage, that attempts to distinguish between legitimate human users and bots by requiring users to perform a mildly challenging task such as deciphering distorted text.
[Acronym of
c(ompletely) a(utomated) p(ublic) T(uring test to tell) c(omputers and) h(umans) a(part), coined in 2000 by the researchers who developed the security feature and intended to suggest a colloquial pronunciation of
capture.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
captcha
(ˈkæptʃə) n (Communications & Information) a test in which the user of a website is asked to decipher a distorted image, used to protect the website against automated attacks
[C21: acronym for C(ompletely) A(utomated) P(ublic Turing Test to) T(ell) C(omputers and) H(umans) A(part)]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014