program
Americannoun
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programs
plural
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a plan of action to accomplish a specified end.
a school lunch program.
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a plan or schedule of activities, procedures, etc., to be followed.
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a broadcasted television or radio production or similar internet-based content produced for distribution.
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Also called computer program. Digital Technology. a precise sequence of instructions enabling a computer to perform a task; a piece of software.
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a collection of principles, actions, objectives, etc., established with a long-term goal in mind; platform; policy.
A review of our education initiatives and programs suggests we are meeting our goals.
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a list of items, pieces, performers, etc., in a musical, theatrical, or other entertainment.
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an entertainment with reference to its pieces or numbers.
a program of American and French music.
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a planned, coordinated group of activities, procedures, etc., often for a specific purpose, or a facility offering such a series of activities.
a drug rehabilitation program;
a graduate program in linguistics.
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a prospectus or syllabus.
a program of courses being offered.
verb (used with object)
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programs,
present (3rd person singular)
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programmed,
past participle, past
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programed,
past participle, past
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programming,
present participle
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programing
present participle
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to schedule as part of a program.
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Digital Technology. to write code for (a computer program or application).
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to insert or encode specific operating instructions into (a machine or apparatus).
We'll program the bells to ring at ten-minute intervals.
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to insert (instructions) into a machine or apparatus.
An automatic release has been programmed into the lock as a safety feature.
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to cause to absorb or incorporate automatic responses, attitudes, or the like; condition.
Our parents programmed us to respect our elders.
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to set, regulate, or modify so as to produce a specific response or reaction.
Program your eating habits to eliminate sweets.
verb (used without object)
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programs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
programmed,
past participle, past
-
programed,
past participle, past
-
programming,
present participle
-
programing
present participle
-
to plan or write a program.
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Digital Technology. to write computer code.
noun
verb
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(tr) to feed a program into (a computer)
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(tr) to arrange (data) into a suitable form so that it can be processed by a computer
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(intr) to write a program
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A organized system of instructions and data interpreted by a computer. Programming instructions are often referred to as code.
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See more at source code See also programming language
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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programsimple
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programssimple
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have programedperfect
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have programmedperfect
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has programedperfect
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has programmedperfect
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am programingprogressive
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am programmingprogressive
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are programingprogressive
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are programmingprogressive
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is programingprogressive
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is programmingprogressive
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have been programingperfect progressive
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have been programmingperfect progressive
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has been programingperfect progressive
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has been programmingperfect progressive
Past
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programedsimple
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programmedsimple
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had programedperfect
-
had programmedperfect
-
was programingprogressive
-
was programmingprogressive
-
were programingprogressive
-
were programmingprogressive
-
had been programingperfect progressive
-
had been programmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of program
First recorded in 1625–35; from Late Latin programma, from Greek prógramma “public notice in writing”; see pro- 2, -gram 1
Explanation
A program is a sequence or plan. At your niece's dance recital you may be dismayed to discover that her piece is 19th on the program. Settle in! Program comes from the Greek for "public notice." When you go to the theater, you'll be handed a program with the names of the play and the performers. We call television or radio shows programs, especially if they’re on regularly. If you're trying to get in shape, you'll need an exercise program. To program is to plan or organize something, or to write the code and execute the commands that make computers work.
Vocabulary lists containing program
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
Although Nazi Germany pursued nuclear research through a program known as the Uranprojekt, historians have long debated how close its scientists came to developing a functioning reactor.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
A new scientific investigation suggests the Nazi nuclear program was much further from success than its leading physicist claimed.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
In April, Anthropic announced access to an unreleased Claude program for JPMorgan Chase and other clients to shore up security weaknesses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Inspired by the Birthright Israel program for Jewish youth, the nonprofit sponsored trips for Cuban Americans to connect with Cubans on the island.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
The other kids in the program were still in line to get their breakfasts, and behind us, Callaway was sitting at a small table with some of the other mountain faculty.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Although the study was relatively small and participants chose their training programs, its findings support the idea that meaningful physical improvements remain possible well into older adulthood.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
Training and education in these programs should include preparation for the modern battlefield.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Most of these programs did not have physical forms in their original MCU incarnations, but appear in human form within the world inside Vision’s mind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
These programs provide students with military classes and training at civilian universities alongside civilian college degree requirements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
All of the other Zanmi Lasante projects in the villages around Cange had been interrupted—its programs for women’s literacy, for vaccinating children, for sanitation and clean water, for distributing condoms and other AIDS-prevention measures.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
“They do have to be ready to perform, for instance, if a train is not stopping when it’s programed to stop,” Mayer told commissioners.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 7, 2023
Thirty years ago, we might have hailed as rare and consequential any dozen weeks in which music by a mere handful of living composers was programed as the regular course of a classical music season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2022
He explains how he would make dishes, and the robot would be programed to copy his movement.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2021
We’re talking about a system that has to be programed sequentially and that can only do one thing at a time.
From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2021
I vaguely remember a TV story from the 50s that showed a room size computer at DuPont that was programed to generate millions of syllables for prefixes and syllables for suffixes.
From New York Times ● Jan. 15, 2015
The team next investigated whether these expandable progenitor cells could be programmed to fight cancer.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Early on, he took an interest in computers, and, he said, in high school programmed custom real estate software for his uncles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
On the surface, it seems like harmless video game humor, and I’m sure we’ve all had encounters with actual humans that resembled interacting with tautological machines programmed with limited responses.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
Agentic AI, in particular, will be central to software development, Huang said, referring to systems programmed to be autonomous and perform tasks without supervision.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Birds, humans, slugs—every animal—because instincts come from within the brain and the heart. They are hardwired, not learned but programmed into you.”
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
More Spheres would be bullish for the company because of royalty and other income, as well as the ability to distribute original programing in multiple locations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025
Non-routine cognitive jobs include public relations and computer programing.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2024
Indeed, Kunst’s submission to the 2018 CRC points to this TV programing note in the Miami News for channel 10’s Florida Journal on Oct.
From Slate ● Jan. 18, 2024
“We have a lot more overlapping programing so when there’s something on Damrosch in the bandshell, we’ll also have something on the dance floor,” said Shanta Thake, Lincoln Center’s chief artistic officer.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 17, 2023
Remedies for alteration of programing by cable systems.
From Copyright Law of the United States of America: contained in Title 17 of the United States Code. by United States
Instead of programming the humanoids under controlled conditions, Tau is sending its robots into homes to learn through first-hand experience.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
They also said programming spanning fashion, film, food, music, performing and visual art, will be announced in 2027.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Just going off that, I’d say it’s a recognition of a much more competitive landscape, which means being able to continue to invest aggressively in programming that will improve engagement time on the platform.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said computer programming had been the biggest contributor to what she described as "robust" growth over the period.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
He spoke only when spoken to and said as little as possible in response, except—he and Jesse were alike in this—when the subject was programming, computers, or any possible social or technical Net application.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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