calculator

American  

[kal-kyuh-ley-ter] / ˈkæl kjəˌleɪ tər /

noun

• calculators
  plural

1. a person who calculates or computes.

2. Also called calculating machine.  a small electronic or mechanical device that performs calculations, requiring manual action for each individual operation.

3. a person who operates such a machine.

4. a set of tables that facilitates calculation.

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calculator British  

/ ˈkælkjʊˌleɪtə /

noun

1. a device for performing mathematical calculations, esp an electronic device that can be held in the hand

2. a person or thing that calculates

3. a set of tables used as an aid to calculations

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calculator Cultural  

1. An electronic device for performing automatic mathematical computations, usually controlled by a keyboard. Some are actually small computers, with limited memory, that allow the user to use simple programs.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• minicalculator
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• calculators
  plural

Etymology

Origin of calculator

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin; see calculate, -tor

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

calculator calculators

As high-school math students gear up to buy the newest version of Texas Instruments’ TI-84 graphic calculator, cheaper upstarts are trying to break the company’s decades-old grip on the market.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

They used a risk calculator called Boadicea that combines factors such as family history, lifestyle, reproductive history and genetic information to give a risk score.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Grab your calculator and take our business of sports test.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

For this example, I’m using AARP’s investment-returns calculator because it allows you to adjust a variety of variables.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 3, 2026

But then she got up and went to find a calculator.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

It’s not necessarily easy for entire school districts to shift to a new standard, given that teachers have been instructing using these calculators for years.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

Several breast cancer risk calculators like Boadicea already exist and none are perfect.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Electronic calculators, for instance, may have helped users solve equations -- but left the method and reasoning process in human hands.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Many banks and investment firms offer online retirement calculators.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026

These improvements bettered the quality of everything ranging from radios, to television sets, to small electronic calculators, yet the agency hadn’t done a good job of explaining these benefits to the public.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson