programmer
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of programmer
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."
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:
Tencent has also been among the Chinese tech giants racing to take advantage of a surge in interest in the country in OpenClaw -- an AI agent platform created by an Austrian programmer.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
In 2012, a French programmer called Stéphane Gigandet launched a free, online and crowdsourced food product database called Open Food Facts during the Food Revolution Day organised by English chef Jamie Oliver.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Alquinga, a 31-year-old programmer, said animals "may not be able to speak to us, or give us advice, but they are there to give us all the love that they have."
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
From his father, a programmer for video games whom he calls eccentric, Parsons inherited a love of sci-fi and “weird storytelling.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
A forgetful programmer might make it count from one to nine, yielding only nine steps instead of ten.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Carville’s reputation for colorful turns of phrase, and his tendency to stomp on any calls for the party to move left, made him a favorite of cable news programmers looking to make entertaining television.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
DeepSeek -- whose V4 Flash tops the usage leaderboard of technical platform OpenRouter -- said last week it plans a "significant increase" in prices for programmers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
“National programmers today are free to reach 100% of their relevant markets by distributing their programming direct to consumers or through deals they cut with virtual cable companies,” Mr. Carr noted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
But the efficiency gains reshaping startups are casting a long shadow over the next generation of programmers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
That, in turn, meant that programmers didn’t have to physically hand their stacks of computer cards to the operator anymore.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
