(1) An item that is the equivalent of something else. In the physical world, tokens take the place of coins and tickets. In the digital world, tokens are data that represent other data. See
authentication token,
crypto token and
Ethereum token.
(2) A frame in a communications network. See
token passing.
(3) A dynamically assigned number for a Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) credit or debit card transaction. The token is used in place of the "primary account number" (PAN) on the card. See
EMV.
(4) In programming, a string of characters. For example, in the C expression
#define MAXAMOUNT 50000, MAXAMOUNT is the token.