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programmer

American  
[proh-gram-er] / ˈproʊ græm ər /
Or programer

noun

  1. a person who writes code for computer programs.

  2. a person who programs a machine, device, or apparatus.

  3. a person who prepares program schedules, as for radio or television.

  4. a person who prepares instructional programs.

programmer British  
/ ˈprəʊɡræmə /

noun

  1. a person who writes a program so that data may be processed by a computer

"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 programmer

First recorded in 1885–90; program + -er 1

Explanation

Someone who writes software or programs for computers is called a programmer. If you develop an application for mobile devices, you can also call yourself a programmer. Programmers use a variety of computer languages to write the code (or instructions) that helps computers do the things their users want them to do. There are programmers who specialize in specific languages which are useful in various industries — some are used by financial institutions and others by scientists, for example. Evidence of the dramatic way things change over time is clear from the shift in this word's meaning: in 1890, a programmer was an "event planner."

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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.

Programmer Nev Bourne executes the alpha test of SavePoint 2.0, a prefrontal cortex implant that uses loop quantum gravity to let users leap five seconds back in time.

From Scientific American • Jun. 20, 2023

Programmer Phil Zimmerman soon spoiled the scheme by developing a tool called PGP, which encrypted communications so that they could only be read by the sender and receiver.

From Slate • Feb. 22, 2019

Jeff once circulated a list of “Latency Numbers Every Programmer Should Know.”

From The New Yorker • Dec. 3, 2018

Programmer Jeff Dean was one of Google’s earliest employees, and is credited with helping to create some of the fundamental technologies that powered the tech giant’s rise in the early 2000s.

From The Verge • Apr. 3, 2018

For an opposing point of view, see the entry for Real Programmer.

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.