status bar

IPA/ˈsteɪtəs bɑː(r)/
IPA/ˈsteɪtəs bɑːr/

status bar — noun

1. A narrow horizontal area along the lower edge of a computer or phone screen that

1.nounB1
Definition

A narrow horizontal area along the lower edge of a computer or phone screen that shows useful details — such as the time, battery level, which file is open, or what the current program is doing.

Example

Olivia glanced at the status bar to check the video's remaining time.

collocation: glance at the status bar

The status bar showed that the file download had reached 72 percent.

Common collocations
  • glance at the status bar
  • tap the status bar
  • appear in the status bar
  • show in the status bar
  • check the status bar
  • look at the status bar
Synonyms
  • notification bar

    narrower — usually the top strip on a phone that shows alerts and messages, not the general info strip at the bottom of a computer screen

  • taskbar

    different function — the bar showing open programs and the Start menu, not a passive information display

Grammar Patterns

status bar + of + noun

in the status bar

on the status bar

Usage Note

On many smartphones and tablets, tapping the status bar scrolls to the top of the current page or app — a shortcut not obvious from its appearance.

Common Mistakes

I clicked the save button in the status bar.
I clicked the save button in the toolbar.
a status bar shows read-only information (time, battery, progress); a toolbar holds buttons you can click to perform actions.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A status bar is a read-only information strip at the bottom of a screen — it tells you what is happening (time, battery, download progress) but you cannot interact with it directly except on phones, where tapping it scrolls to the top. A toolbar, by contrast, is a row of clickable buttons for performing actions such as saving, printing, or undoing. A taskbar (Windows) or dock (Mac) sits at the bottom of the screen and shows which programs are currently open, letting you switch between them. A menu bar runs across the top of a window and offers drop-down lists of commands like File, Edit, and View. Learners often confuse these because they all appear as horizontal strips in software — but remembering the key question helps: does the strip show information (status bar), offer clickable tools (toolbar), manage open programs (taskbar), or list menus (menu bar)?

toolbar ↗taskbarmenu bar

Common collocations

Nouns

  • the bottom of the screen
  • the lower edge

Phrases

  • at the bottom of the screen

Prepositions

  • in the status bar
  • on the status bar

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

From 'status' (borrowed from Latin 'status' meaning condition or standing) and 'bar' (from Old French 'barre', a rod or long piece). The computing meaning emerged in the 1980s as graphical user interfaces adopted horizontal information strips to show system and program state.