DictionaryAI

computer

kuhm-PYOO-tur/kəmˈpjutɚ/kuhm-PYOO-tuh/kəmˈpjuːtə/

Pluralcomputers

Verbcomputers, computering, computered

5 meanings of computer

Practice

  1. 1
    machinenouncountable
    A programmable electronic device that performs calculations and logical operations and can store and retrieve large amounts of data quickly, now especially a small one for personal use.

    The lab's computers process thousands of measurements every second.

    She uses her computer mainly for editing photos and browsing the web.

    UsageSit at the computer, but work and files are on the computer: saved on my computer.

    Similarmachine

    Note

    The machine took both the job and the name from the human calculator.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

  2. 2
    human calculatornounarchaichistorical
    A person employed to do mathematical calculations by hand, as before electronic computers.

    Before electronic machines, every large observatory employed computers to reduce its observations.

    Only a few years ago Mr. Powers, an American computer, disproved a hypothesis about prime numbers which had held the field for more than 250 years.
    1927, J. B. S. Haldane, Possible Worlds and Other Essays
    Note

    The oldest meaning, from compute plus -er, first recorded around 1613 in the poet Richard Brathwait. J. B. S. Haldane could still call Mr. Powers "an American computer" in 1927, and World War II laboratories filled whole rooms with such people. Today it belongs to historical writing.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The human sense predates the electronic-machine sense. nasa.gov
    • Computer was formed from compute plus -er. en.wiktionary.org
    • The human sense was first recorded around 1613 in the poet Richard Brathwait. en.wiktionary.org
    • Haldane called Mr. Powers an American computer in 1927. jbshaldane.org
    • World War II laboratories had rooms full of human computers. ethw.org
  3. 3
    use oneverbnonstandardintransitive
    To make use of or operate a computer.
    I'm constantly computering, schlepping, stressing, and hauling ass like the rest of us. We are New Yorkers.
    2017, Alyssa Shelasky, “What I Discovered When I Outsourced My Back Pain”
    Yeah, you saw what he could do when he flips out. I mean, how am I going to say no to that? Plus, he does computer good.
    2019, “Finding Mr. Right”, in Harley Quinn
    Note

    A casual, nonstandard verb that turns the noun into an activity. It takes regular endings: computering, computered. It is most at home in the -ing form, as in "sitting here computering for a while" or "constantly computering, schlepping, stressing." Its tone is jokey and conversational, the kind Harley Quinn reaches for with "he does computer good."

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The quotation “sitting here computering for a while” is attested. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quotation “constantly computering, schlepping, stressing” is attested in Alyssa Shelasky’s writing. nymag.com
    • Harley Quinn says “he does computer good.” en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    put on fileverbnonstandardtransitive
    To transfer data or records onto a computer; to computerize a process.
    Our sincere thanks are due to Antje Reuter, Jens Adam and Uwe Horstmann for computering the manuscript and Ralph Phillips and Kirsten Techmer for proof reading it.
    1983, H. Ahrendt, N. Clauer
    I have 30 years worth of logs some place and they have been computered the last few years and the last few years I think I have posted them to the sites I hang out on.
    2010, Burr, “MFW has been milked dry”

    Similardigitize, computerize

    Note

    A rare, nonstandard stand-in for computerize, and one to keep out of careful writing. In the 1980s it surfaces in book acknowledgements thanking whoever typed a manuscript into a machine ("for computering the manuscript"), and in 2010 Burr's logs on Usenet "have been computered." It takes a direct object, unlike the plain "use a computer" verb, and inflects regularly as computering, computered. Computerize remains the safe choice.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Book acknowledgements from the 1980s attest manuscript preparation described as “computering”, including the exact phrase “for computering the manuscript”. en.wiktionary.org
    • The book containing that acknowledgement was originally published in the 1980s, rather than first appearing with its later digital edition. link.springer.com
    • A 2010 Usenet posting attributed to Burr describes his logs as having been “computered”. en.wiktionary.org
  2. 5
    sendverbnonstandardtransitive
    To send something to a recipient by means of a computer.
    They had immediately computered the description out to the scores of law enforcement agencies in Southern California.
    1988, Marcel Montecino, The Crosskiller

    Similaremail, transmit, send

    Note

    Here the verb takes an object and a destination. Something is computered out to the agencies, or computered to every station. It turns up in crime fiction, such as Marcel Montecino's The Crosskiller (1988) and Will Kingdom's Mean Spirit (2001), where it means sending a description or memo down the wire. It shares its forms with the "use a computer" verb, and the object tells them apart.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Marcel Montecino wrote The Crosskiller, first published in 1988. openlibrary.org
    • Will Kingdom wrote Mean Spirit, first published in 2001. en.wikipedia.org
    • The Crosskiller uses computered for sending a description to law enforcement agencies. en.wiktionary.org
    • Mean Spirit uses computered for sending memos to police stations. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of computer apart? Answer 2 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Formed from compute plus the suffix -er, and a doublet of counter and kontor. The first sense appears around 1613 in the work of the poet Richard Brathwait, while the machine sense is on record by 1897 in the magazine Engineering.

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts