USB symbol
USB. The trident marks a USB port, plug or cable.
Easily confused with
How to read it
The trident is the USB icon, drawn in the USB specification: a stem ending in an arrowhead, with side branches ending in a circle and a square. The USB Implementers Forum requires the standard trident on the top of both plugs of a cable, as chapter 6 of the USB 2.0 specification describes. Gizmodo’s history of computer symbols says it was drawn to resemble Neptune’s trident, with the three points changed to a triangle, a square and a circle for the different kinds of peripheral that can be attached.
Also searched as: USB icon, USB trident.
Variants
A trident with a plus sign was recommended by the USB Implementers Forum and a working group of PC makers, Intel and Microsoft to label the faster USB 2.0 ports on computers and hubs, so the port reads as USB first and USB 2.0 second.
Look-alikes
The trident is not the same as the certified USB logos. Those are trademarks of the USB Implementers Forum, allowed only on products that have passed its compliance testing.
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Where this symbol came from
oldsymbols.comPoseidonPoseidon’s symbol is the trident, a three-pronged spear. Greek artists also gave him the horse, which he was said to have created, and the dolphin, so that he is easy to pick out among the gods.Read next
- Next in Power and device symbolsBluetooth symbolBluetooth. The angular B marks Bluetooth, and on a phone’s status bar it shows a Bluetooth device is connected.
- The same shape in African flagsFlag of the African UnionThe African Union’s flag shows a map of Africa on a green field, surrounded by rays of light and a ring of stars. The African Union says the stars, 55 of them, represent its 55 member states; the Assembly’s 2007 decision asked for a green background to symbolise Africa’s hope.
More power and device symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with arrows, circles or squares and rectangles.
Sources
- USB-IF frequently asked questions, USB Implementers Forum, Can I put the Hi-Speed logo on the underside of the overmold
- Icon design recommendation for Identifying USB 2.0 Ports on PCs, Hosts and Hubs, USB Implementers Forum (Internet Archive copy), Design guideline; background
- The Secret Histories of Those @#$%ing Computer Symbols, Bryan Gardiner, 16 August 2010, Gizmodo, USB
- USB-IF Logo License, USB-IF Logo Trademark License Agreement and Usage Guidelines, USB Implementers Forum
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 26, 2026. How we research
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