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

Scanning the newspaper, inky fingers and fuzzled minds, scrambling for the calculator and jotting down the codes for Julian Dicks and Juninho.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Now there’s even a new online “jock tax” calculator they can consult.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson earns about $51 million, giving him a total liability of $24 million on that money, including $5 million in state and local taxes, the calculator says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Murali Annavaram, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, likened AI to a calculator.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

She could break it all down in her head in a way that would've taken Bit and John John a calculator to do, and Trista probably two pages of long division.

From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds

There are online calculators that help people calculate their Coast FI numbers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 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

The click, click, click of their fingers running across the ten-by-ten gray manual keyboards of their calculators resonated throughout the room.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson