compiler

[ kuhm-pahy-ler ]
See synonyms for compiler on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who compiles, or gathers things together.

  2. Also called com·pil·ing rou·tine [kuhm-pahy-ling roo-teen] /kəmˈpaɪ lɪŋ ruˌtin/ .Computers. a computer program that translates a program written in a high-level language into another language, usually machine language.: Compare interpreter (def. 3a).

Origin of compiler

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English compilour, from Anglo-French; Old French compileor, from Late Latin compīlātor; equivalent to compile + -er2
  • Rarely com·pi·la·tor [kom-puh-ley-ter] /ˈkɒm pəˌleɪ tər/ .

Other words from compiler

  • pre·com·pil·er, noun

Words Nearby compiler

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use compiler in a sentence

  • The compiler remarks that "this trait does great honor to Theodoric's manner of thinking with respect to religion."

    A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
  • He was probably the author or compiler of the sacred books; and is said to have been the first who taught disciples.

    The Cradle of Mankind | W.A. Wigram
  • The compiler of this work has rendered good service to all possessed of Christian sympathies.

  • The Mr. Hackluyt here mentioned is the industrious compiler of the well-known collection of early voyages.

    Witch, Warlock, and Magician | William Henry Davenport Adams
  • Yet the alleged late compiler of the Odyssey, in the seventh century, never wanders thus from the Homeric standard in taste.

    Homer and His Age | Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for compiler

compiler

/ (kəmˈpaɪlə) /


noun
  1. a person who collects or compiles something

  2. a computer program by which a high-level programming language, such as COBOL or FORTRAN, is converted into machine language that can be acted upon by a computer: Compare assembler

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for compiler

compiler

[ kəm-pīlər ]


  1. A computer program associated with certain programming languages that converts the instructions written in those languages into machine code that can later be executed directly by a computer. See more at programming language.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.