abacus
Americannoun
plural
abacuses, abaci-
a device for making arithmetic calculations, consisting of a frame set with rods on which balls or beads are moved.
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Architecture. a slab forming the top of the capital of a column.
noun
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a counting device that consists of a frame holding rods on which a specific number of beads are free to move. Each rod designates a given denomination, such as units, tens, hundreds, etc, in the decimal system, and each bead represents a digit or a specific number of digits
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architect the flat upper part of the capital of a column
Etymology
Origin of abacus
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: board, counting board, re-formed < Greek ábax
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.
Calculators, cars and probably candles and the abacus were considered a menace to society.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025
Recently, a lovely and well-meaning friend texted me one of those trending articles that make you want to trade your smartphone for an abacus and never speak of the internet again.
From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2024
For example, you can add numbers perfectly using an abacus, in which wooden beads are pushed back and forth to represent arithmetic operations.
From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2023
You can put away the abacus for this year though.
From BBC • Dec. 9, 2022
Each grouping of symbols represented a certain number of stones that had been moved on the abacus, and like each column of the abacus, each grouping had a different value, depending on its position.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
