analog
Americannoun
adjective
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of or relating to a mechanism, device, or technology that represents data by measurement of a continuous physical variable, as voltage or pressure.
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displaying a readout by a pointer or hands on a dial rather than by numerical digits.
an analog clock.
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relating to or denoting an activity, process, etc., that is not online or computerized but that can also exist or happen with the help of such technology: She prefers analog dating, meeting and getting to know someone first in a real-life setting before deciding whether to pursue a personal relationship.
In most ways, the grocery industry has remained stubbornly analog for the past few decades.
She prefers analog dating, meeting and getting to know someone first in a real-life setting before deciding whether to pursue a personal relationship.
noun
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Measuring or representing data by means of one or more physical properties that can express any value along a continuous scale. For example, the position of the hands of a clock is an analog representation of time.
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Compare digital
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An organ or structure that is similar in function to one in another kind of organism but is of dissimilar evolutionary origin. The wings of birds and the wings of insects are analogs.
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A chemical compound that has a similar structure and similar chemical properties to those of another compound, but differs from it by a single element or group. The antibiotic amoxicillin, for example, is an analog of penicillin, differing from the latter by the addition of an amino group.
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Compare homologue
Usage
The spelling analog is a US variant of analogue in all its senses, and is also the generally preferred spelling in the computer industry
Etymology
Origin of analog
First recorded in 1955–60; analogue ( def. )
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.
“Rooster,” on the other hand, is the story of an analog middle-aged man, Steve Carell’s Greg Russo, who has much in common with Lawrence’s other better-loved heroes.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
“There is no clean analog for a disruption of this size moving through such a strategically vital artery, with multiple state actors, military uncertainty and global energy infrastructure all tied into the same risk knot.”
From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026
Despite our digital era, he remains committed to analog, avoids flashes and develops the negatives by hand.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
“Dance No More” has a few squawky synths that hint at an appealingly analog ’80s feel, but everything is rendered so immaculately that any sense of naiveté is quickly snuffed out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
I knew from my research that the cassette recorder functioned as the TRS-80’s “tape drive” It stored data as analog sound on magnetic audio-tapes.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
