noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of computation
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin computātiōn-, stem of computātiō, from computāt(us) “reckoned” (past participle of computāre “to reckon, sum up”; see compute) + -iō -ion
Explanation
Computation is what you do when you calculate something, like a simple math problem or something involving quantum mechanics or — worse — even your taxes. People have invented all kinds of machines to help with computation, from the abacus to the computer, and, in fact, when computers were first invented (and when one computer could easily fill a large room), using a computer was called computation. Much of what made computers so revolutionary was that in a relatively short time they could do a complex mathematical computation that would take a human many lifetimes to do.
Vocabulary lists containing computation
"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
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Expressions and Equations
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Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience" (1849)
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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.
These 3D-printed works were the result of Lee’s experimental clay residency at the Expressive Computation Lab at UC Santa Barbara.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2024
Researchers from Cleveland Clinic and IBM recently published findings in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation that could lay the groundwork for applying quantum computing methods to protein structure prediction.
From Science Daily • May 29, 2024
"Computation" in this case refers to the numerical calculations that were done in the course of testing an implosion method for creating a more efficient nuclear bomb.
From Scientific American • Aug. 3, 2023
Earlier this year, Google presented a paper at the Conference on Human Computation and Crowdsourcing.
From The Verge • Dec. 16, 2019
Accordingly, Langley centralized its computing operations into a group named the Analysis and Computation Division, created to service all the center’s research operations, as well as to provide computing to outside contractors.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
