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  • alpha test
    alpha test
    noun
    an early test of new or updated software or hardware conducted by the developers or manufacturers prior to beta-testing by potential users.
  • alpha-test
    alpha-test
    verb (used with object)
    to subject (software or hardware) to an alpha test.

alpha test

1 American  

noun

Computers.
  1. an early test of new or updated software or hardware conducted by the developers or manufacturers prior to beta-testing by potential users.


alpha-test 2 American  

verb (used with object)

Computers.
  1. to subject (software or hardware) to an alpha test.


alpha-test British  

noun

  1. an in-house test of a new or modified piece of computer software

"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

verb

  1. to test (software) in this way Compare beta-test

"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 alpha-test

First recorded in 1985–90

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:

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

For instance, the Greek pantheon resembles the superuser avatars that the development team used in our alpha test.

From Nature May 17, 2016

The one she retrieved during her first alpha test.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

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