What is a short length of portable cord that has a jack plug at each end called?

• A. Patch Cord
• B. Patch Lead
• C. Jumper Wire
• D. Interface Cable

Answer: (A)

A patch cord is a short, flexible cord with a jack plug at each end used to make temporary connections between equipment or between jacks. The defining feature is that it provides an easy, quick way to “patch” a signal from one device to another without permanent wiring. Patch cords are designed for rapid changes in setup.

Jumper wires are typically used inside equipment or on breadboards and aren’t standard jack-to-jack cords. Interface cables are intended for linking devices in a system at a more formal data interface level, not simply for short, portable patching. Patch lead is a sometimes-used synonym, but the commonly accepted term in this context is patch cord.