calculator

American  

[kal-kyuh-ley-ter] / ˈkæl kjəˌleɪ tər /

noun

• calculators
  plural

1. a person who calculates or computes.

2. Also called calculating machine.  a small electronic or mechanical device that performs calculations, requiring manual action for each individual operation.

3. a person who operates such a machine.

4. a set of tables that facilitates calculation.

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calculator British  

/ ˈkælkjʊˌleɪtə /

noun

1. a device for performing mathematical calculations, esp an electronic device that can be held in the hand

2. a person or thing that calculates

3. a set of tables used as an aid to calculations

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calculator Cultural  

1. An electronic device for performing automatic mathematical computations, usually controlled by a keyboard. Some are actually small computers, with limited memory, that allow the user to use simple programs.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• minicalculator
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• calculators
  plural

Etymology

Origin of calculator

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin; see calculate, -tor

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

calculator calculators

He thinks students quickly find alternative calculator options to be more intuitive than the TI-84s.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

They used a risk calculator called Boadicea that combines factors such as family history, lifestyle, reproductive history and genetic information to give a risk score.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Grab your calculator and take our business of sports test.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

If you use a simple savings-distribution calculator, which computes spending withdrawals at the same time as balance growth, you could comfortably spend about $250,000 a year for the next 10 years and still have excess.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

“There’s a calculator app in this desktop computer.”

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

But the New York Regents exams still expect students to have physical calculators, which has limited the ability for schools to go fully digital.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

Some say customers aren’t exactly paying for innovation, but rather for decades of familiarity on the educator side — along with textbooks that build the calculators into their curricula.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

Several breast cancer risk calculators like Boadicea already exist and none are perfect.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Electronic calculators, for instance, may have helped users solve equations -- but left the method and reasoning process in human hands.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

These include the earliest dated set of European navigation instruments found thus far: compasses, protractors, calipers, sounding leads, tide calculators, and a device for calculating speed called a log reel.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler