programs

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of program.

   The hospital expanded its training programs for new nurses.

   Several television programs covered the election results that night.

   Note

   One spelling serves two grammars: the same letters are also the present-tense verb, so "she programs" and "the programs" differ only in what surrounds them. As a plural it gathers every kind of program: training schemes, theater leaflets, party platforms, broadcasts and software. Context, not form, decides which is meant. Printed programs are leaflets, and installed programs are software.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of program.

   The engineer programs each sensor before it leaves the factory.

   My brother programs video games in his spare time.

   Note

   A verb that almost always takes a direct object. Someone programs a thermostat, a game, a festival schedule or a station's evening lineup. Add an infinitive after the object and it reaches beyond machines: habit programs a person to react without thinking. This is the figurative "cause to behave automatically" use. Context separates it from the plural noun spelled the same way.

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