What's the meaning of the "A" on your USB-A ports?

Making sense of USB-A and clearing up if it's becoming obsolete.

By Thomas Godwin Nov. 15, 2026 3:00 pm EST New Africa/Shutterstock Add Engadget on Google: Google Discover

There's no hidden or extraordinary meaning for the letter "A" in USB-A. It's simply a letter designation for a Type-A connector, which is the familiar, wide rectangular plug found on flash drives and countless charging cables. USB itself stands for Universal Serial Bus, but the letter "A" identifies the connector type and nothing more. The same holds true for USB-B and USB-C connectors.