programmer
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of programmer
Explanation
Someone who writes software or programs for computers is called a programmer. If you develop an application for mobile devices, you can also call yourself a programmer. Programmers use a variety of computer languages to write the code (or instructions) that helps computers do the things their users want them to do. There are programmers who specialize in specific languages which are useful in various industries — some are used by financial institutions and others by scientists, for example. Evidence of the dramatic way things change over time is clear from the shift in this word's meaning: in 1890, a programmer was an "event planner."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Mr. Dudamel, it turns out, is a sly programmer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
After 60 years of loving to drive, it wasn’t easy to admit that Elon Musk is a better programmer than I am a driver.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
In 2012, a French programmer called Stéphane Gigandet launched a free, online and crowdsourced food product database called Open Food Facts during the Food Revolution Day organised by English chef Jamie Oliver.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Alquinga, a 31-year-old programmer, said animals "may not be able to speak to us, or give us advice, but they are there to give us all the love that they have."
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
My plan, insofar as I had one, was to go to university to be a computer programmer, but we couldn’t afford the tuition.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
DeepSeek's systems are open-source, meaning their inner workings are public, allowing programmers to customise parts of the software to suit their needs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
They also said that podcasts, gaming and partnerships with programmers like TF1, a French television network, could bring in more ad revenue and keep people watching longer.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
The AI agents have been trained to act like collaborative hackers and programmers so are merely mimicking the kinds of emotive comments they have seen.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Murdoch even owned the Dodgers for a stretch to corner the market on what was then a Wild West shoot-out among TV programmers to launch cable channels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
GSS’s own programmers had designed and constructed Ludus and all of the schools on it.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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