error message

noun

1. a message displayed on a visual display unit, printout, etc, indicating that an incorrect instruction has been given to the computer

Example Sentences

Many claimed the release itself was one big scam after they were met with an error message upon clicking the link to enter the giveaway.

From Salon

One user said they won a cup but couldn’t claim it: “I won but when I put in the info to it send it. It gave me an error message.”

From Salon

An error message would prevent her from being able to log onto the system.

From BBC

From the field view, I asked to rewind to a prior goal-scoring moment to see it up close, and suddenly the program vanished and Ieft an error message similar to the one you get on a Mac when your web browser closes unexpectedly.

From Slate

Sanchez-Rola said sometimes scammers will also offer a credit card option that looks real, but it’s designed to display an error message when you try to use it so you’ll be forced to use a different, sketchier payment method.

From Los Angeles Times