laptop
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of laptop
Explanation
Laptop is short for laptop computer. The big computer on your desk is a desktop, and the small one on your lap is a laptop. See what they did there? Now shoo that lapdog and get to work! There are other kinds of portable computers, but a laptop usually has a screen that folds over the keyboard when you’re not using it. The earliest versions of laptops were made in the 1970s, and they've become lighter, thinner, more portable, and much more popular since then. The word laptop was coined in 1984, based on — you guessed it — desktop, which describes the heavier, non-portable computer.
Vocabulary lists containing laptop
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Units 2–3
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Computer Terms
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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.
“We built Surface Laptop Ultra to meet that work without flinching.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
Laptop chipmakers such as Intel and AMD should be worried about their new rival Nvidia, experts say, after the US hardware titan announced Monday a push into the personal computer market.
From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026
Microsoft sells its Surface Laptop 5 at a starting retail price of $1,000.
From New York Times • Jan. 31, 2024
Laptop internet use would be restricted to specified virtual private networks, 23 websites for personal use including news, sports and food delivery, and websites to help Bankman-Fried prepare for his scheduled Oct.
From Reuters • Mar. 4, 2023
Laptop owners curse these things because they're notoriously easy to lose and the vendors commonly charge extortionate prices for replacements.
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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
