Easter egg

[ ee-ster eg ]

noun

1. a chicken egg that is dyed and often given a figure or design, or an imitation of such an egg, as an egg-shaped candy or chocolate, used at Easter as a gift or decoration.
2. Digital Technology. an extra feature, as a message or video, hidden in a software program, video game, DVD, etc., and revealed as by an obscure sequence of keystrokes or commands.
3. Movies, Television. a hidden message, as a cryptic reference, iconic image, or inside joke, that fans are intended to discover in a television show or movie.

Easter egg

noun

1. an egg given to children at Easter, usually a chocolate egg or a hen's egg with its shell painted
2. a bonus or extra feature hidden inside a website, computer game, or DVD, that is only revealed after repeated or lengthy viewing or playing

Word History and Origins

Origin of Easter egg¹

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

If you click on some dogs in a GQ feature, you get a quick Easter egg on what kind of woman that dog will help you attract.

From The Daily Beast

The editor thanks Tillie S. for her pretty Easter-egg, with its kind wishes.

From Project Gutenberg

In age she's anywhere between 10 and 15, with a head not unlike in shape and appearance to a dark chocolate-colored Easter-egg.

From Project Gutenberg

When she did, he saw that she held lightly but firmly clasped in her encircling fingers the pretty Easter-egg he had given her!

From Project Gutenberg

He decided to build a wall all around Castle Easter Egg and to lay out a garden under the tree.

From Project Gutenberg

In the door of Castle Easter Egg hung a flowered carpet for a curtain and at the windows were little shades.

From Project Gutenberg