program

Less common meanings

7. 7
   bookletnouncountable

   A leaflet that lists information about a play, game, or other event.

   She kept the concert program as a souvenir.

   The program named each scene and its setting.

   Similarplaybill, booklet, leaflet

   Note

   The leaflet stays closest to the word's origins. Greek prógramma was a written public notice, built from pró, 'before', and gráphō, 'I write': something set down in advance. A theater or concert program does exactly that. It tells the audience beforehand what they will see, often alongside the credits and a page of restaurant ads. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • Greek prógramma meant a written public notice. fr.wiktionary.org
   • The Greek formation combines pro- and gráphō, through prográphō. en.wiktionary.org
   • Greek pró means before. en.wiktionary.org
   • Gráphō is the first-person singular present form meaning I write. en.wiktionary.org
   • The underlying Greek verb can mean to write beforehand. en.wiktionary.org
8. 8
   political goalsnouncountable

   The set of main goals that someone, especially a political party or candidate, stands for.

   The candidate built her campaign around a bold economic program.

   Critics argued the party's program ignored rural voters.

   Similarplatform

   Note

   In politics, a program is what a party or candidate promises to pursue: an agenda to campaign on, close to what platform means. The sense also stretches past parties. Alexander Wilson's 1981 piece, using the French-derived spelling programme, applies it to a tabloid's guiding aims. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Alexander Wilson's cited article appeared in 1981; Wiktionary identifies it as The New Right Attacks Childhood Sexuality: A Canadian Perspective, published in Gay Community News on February 14. en.wiktionary.org
   • Wilson used programme to describe the Toronto Sun's guiding agenda. en.wiktionary.org
   • The English spelling programme derives from French programme. fr.wiktionary.org
9. 9
   nouncountable

   A particular mindset or established method of doing things.

   The new manager expected everyone to get with the program by the end of the first week.

   If you want to keep this job, you'd better get with the program and start answering your emails on time.

   UsageMostly in get with the program, an impatient push to accept how things are done.

   Similarroutine, system, method, regime

   Note

   This meaning lives mostly in one impatient idiom: get with the program. It means stop resisting and accept the way things are done here. Ellis says it to John in Die Hard (1988) while pressing him to give up the detonators. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Die Hard was released in 1988. en.wikipedia.org
   • Ellis uses the phrase while urging John to surrender the detonators. cemp.ac.uk
10. 10
    nouncountable

    A custom list of tracks set to play in a chosen order.

    Before the party, he entered a program into the CD changer that saved the slow songs for the end.

    The stereo remembered the program even after it was turned off.

    Similarplaylist, sequence

    Note

    A feature of CD players and similar devices, sitting between music and computing. Program playback lets a listener choose which tracks play and in what order, overriding the disc's own sequence. The device stores the list, sometimes even after it is switched off. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Program playback is available on CD players. pro.sony
    • Similar devices also offer program playback, including Blu-ray/DVD players. assets.denon.com
    • Listeners can select tracks and their playback order instead of following the disc's sequence. en.wiktionary.org
    • Some devices retain the programmed list even without power. images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com