analog computer

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noun

a computer that represents data by measurable quantities, as voltages or, formerly, the rotation of gears, in order to solve a problem, rather than by expressing the data as numbers.

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Compare digital computer.

Origin of analog computer

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50

Words nearby analog computer

anal intercourse, anality, anallergic, analog, analog clock, analog computer, analogical, analogion, analogism, analogist, analogize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use analog computer in a sentence

In this war, the targeting is often happening on computer monitors thousands of miles away, capturing images from drones.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The resources were what you might expect: Dining room, a media center, a library, a TV room, a meeting room, a computer room.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside|Justin Rohrlich|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Just a few short years ago, I sat down at my computer, and I typed out a similar goodbye letter.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Turn off the TV, put down your phone, and log off the computer.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He grew up both a computer geek in the early days of video games and an avid record collector.
DJ Spooky Wants You To Question Everything You Know About Music, Technology, and Philosophy|Oliver Jones|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Somebody else led the way to a storeroom, tossed its contents into the hall, and festooned it with used computer tape.
Security|Poul William Anderson
The gears on the mechanical computer were really sharp and precise; they looked like you could cut yourself on them.
Makers|Cory Doctorow
I want all of you to understand that the machine you will have to take care of is not just an ordinary computer.
Unwise Child|Gordon Randall Garrett
Most people, if told that a man had said one thing, and that a computer had given a different answer, would rely on the computer.
Unwise Child|Gordon Randall Garrett
It is further distinguished by the use of the zero, which enabled the computer to dispense with the columns of the Abacus.
The Earliest Arithmetics in English|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for analog computer

analog computer

noun

a mechanical, electrical, or electronic computer that performs arithmetical operations by using some variable physical quantity, such as mechanical movement or voltage, to represent numbers

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