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FORTRAN

American

[fawr-tran] / ˈfɔr træn /

noun

Computers.

a high-level programming language used mainly for solving problems in science and engineering.

FORTRAN British

/ ˈfɔːtræn /

noun

a high-level computer programming language for mathematical and scientific purposes, designed to facilitate and speed up the solving of complex problems

"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

Etymology

Origin of FORTRAN

1955–60; for(mula) tran(slation)

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.

Price not only served as an expert on FORTRAN, a programming language, but also lectured on it and developed programs for the Dartmouth network for college faculty.

From Slate • Nov. 1, 2018

By far the most important of the new programming languages was FORTRAN; until recently, it has been estimated, more than 90 percent of all scientific and engineering programs were written in it.

From Scientific American • Aug. 23, 2011

The chess program had been started using FORTRAN, one of the early computer languages.

From Hackers, Heroes of the Computer Revolution Chapters 1 and 2 by Levy, Steven

Invented by John McCarthy at MIT in the late 1950s, it is actually older than any other HLL still in use except FORTRAN.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.

A recent article devoted to the macho side of programming made the bald and unvarnished statement: Real Programmers write in FORTRAN.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023