digital

[dij-i-tl]

adjective

1. displaying a readout in numerical digits rather than by a pointer or hands on a dial.

   a digital speedometer;

   a digital watch.

2. of, relating to, or using numerical calculations.

3. of, relating to, or using data in the form of numerical digits.

   a digital image;

   digital devices.

4. involving or using numerical digits expressed in a scale of notation, usually in the binary system, to represent discretely all variables occurring in a problem.

5. available in electronic form; readable and manipulable by computer.

   Scan these two pages so you'll have them as a digital document.

6. pertaining to, noting, or making use of computers and computerized technologies, including the internet.

   We are living in an increasingly digital world.

   Digital activism uses social media to achieve political reform.

   His blog is a great example of digital journalism.

   Digital technology has revolutionized the music industry.

7. of or relating to a digit or finger.

8. resembling a digit or finger.

9. manipulated with a finger or the fingertips.

   a digital switch.

10. having fingers or digitlike parts.

noun

1. one of the keys or finger levers of keyboard instruments.

digital

/ ˈdɪdʒɪtəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, resembling, or possessing a digit or digits

2. performed with the fingers

3. representing data as a series of numerical values

4. displaying information as numbers rather than by a pointer moving over a dial

   a digital voltmeter

   digital read-out

5. electronics responding to discrete values of input voltage and producing discrete output voltage levels, as in a logic circuit

   digital circuit

6. a less common word for digitate

noun

1. music one of the keys on the manuals of an organ or on a piano, harpsichord, etc

digital

1. Anatomy,  Relating to or resembling a digit, especially a finger.

2. Computer Science,  Representing or operating on data or information in numerical form. A digital clock uses a series of changing digits to represent time at discrete intervals, for example, every second. Modern computers rely on digital processing techniques, in which both data and the instructions for manipulating data are represented as binary numbers.

3. Computer Science,  Compare analog See also logic gate

Other Word Forms

• digitally adverb
• interdigital adjective
• interdigitally adverb
• postdigital adjective
• predigital adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of digital¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin digitālis, equivalent to digit(us) ( digit ) + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

Until the day a team from a company called ReplayTV wheeled in a television set wired to a box with a digital hard drive inside.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Dr Helen Thomas is a GP from Hampshire who is the author of the NHS's digital health training and a member of Health Professionals for Safer Screens.

Read more on BBC

The government's plan to introduce compulsory digital ID for people to prove their right to work in the UK has seen more than 2.8 million people signing a petition against the idea.

Read more on BBC

"While digital devices promise to keep us connected, they frequently do the opposite," writes Catherine, in an essay written in collaboration with Prof Robert Waldinger from Harvard Medical School.

Read more on BBC

Among the evidence that was collected from his digital devices was an image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city, said U.S.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• PC 
• data processor www.thesaurus.com
• desktop computer www.thesaurus.com
• personal computer