input

Pluralinputs

Formsinputs, inputting, input

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Data fed into a process so that it can shape or affect the output.

   Engineers feed sensor input into the model to predict equipment failures.

   The forecast depends entirely on the quality of the input it receives.

   Similardata, information (entry)

   Oppositeoutput

2. 2
   noununcountable

   A contribution of work, information, opinion, or advice to a shared effort or decision.

   The manager welcomed input from every department before announcing the new policy.

   Thanks to her input, the committee revised its recommendation.

   Similarcontribution, feedback, advice, involvement, suggestions

3. 3
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The quantity of something that is put in, such as material, money, or effort.

   Total energy input rose sharply during the winter months.

   Manufacturers track every input that goes into the final product.

   Similarconsumption, investment

   Oppositeoutput

4. 4
   verbtransitive

   To enter data into a computer or other system.

   You must input the customer details before saving the record.

   The technician inputs each reading into the database by hand.

   Similarenter, type, key, record, insert

   Oppositeoutput

   Note

   The past tense is genuinely split. Following put, the verb can stay unchanged (yesterday she input the figures), but regular inputted is common too: Stephen Marche writes "I inputted the text" in 2021, and the same year RAIL magazine describes "data inputted manually." Both forms serve for the past and the past participle, so pick one and use it consistently.

5. 5
   noununcountable

   The act or process of putting something in, as an infusion.

   The continuous input of nutrients sustained the culture for weeks.

   Steady input of capital kept the startup afloat.

   Similarinfusion, injection, supply, introduction

   Oppositeoutput

   Note

   Built from two plain pieces, Middle English inputten is simply in- plus put, so this noun names the putting itself rather than what gets put. It works as a mass noun (steady input of capital) and countably for separate acts. It overlaps easily with the amount put in, so check whether you mean the process or the quantity.

6. 6
   nouncountable

   A jack or socket through which a signal or power enters a device.

   Connect the guitar cable to the amplifier's input.

   The receiver's rear panel has several inputs for different sources.

   Similarjack, socket, port, connector

   Oppositeoutput

   Note

   In electronics the word names the socket, not the signal: a panel can carry several inputs, each a physical place to plug something in. Labels like A/V input say what kind of signal the jack accepts. Its counterpart is the output, which sends the processed result onward, so on an amplifier or receiver the two words show which way the signal travels.

7. 7
   verbtransitive

   To accept and take in data that has been entered.

   The scanner inputs the barcode and updates the inventory instantly.

   These terminals input transactions from thousands of stores at once.

   Similarread, capture, receive, accept

   Oppositeoutput

   Note

   Here the machine does the inputting, not the person at the keyboard. J Stanley Warford's Computer Systems (2009) writes that "the program inputs a value for the integer variable num," with the software as the subject that takes the data in. Look at the subject to tell it from the user's verb: a program or device here, a person there.

8. 8
   verbintransitive

   To put in or put on.

   Several volunteers offered to input during the cleanup drive.

   The advisor inputs whenever decisions affect the budget.

   Similarcontribute, help, participate

   Note

   Here the verb stands without an object: people input during a discussion or a cleanup rather than inputting anything in particular. That makes it the verbal partner of the noun for advice or contribution. It is easy to tell apart from the data-entry verb, which always names what is being entered.

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