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

Well, it’s time to take off your home-team jersey, grab your calculator and take our business of sports test.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 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

Researchers expect the calculator to be used alongside cardiovascular risk assessment tools such as QRISK.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 30, 2026

Instead, Lodge, who goes by Cabot, picked up an HP-12C financial calculator and never looked back, perhaps with an eye to resurrecting the family’s business bona fides.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

The teller did not even have to check any charts or use a calculator.

From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda

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

The advocates were generally happy with what they heard, while also pulling out calculators to assess whether Newsom owes still more to education.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

The new machine could do tasks about 1,000 times as fast as the electromechanical calculators that preceded it, but it was unwieldy, to say the least.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

Lucy is also campaigning for children with dyscalculia to be allowed to use calculators and their personal notes or work books, something she described as Ava's "maths bible," in SATs tests and GCSEs.

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

“Everyone uses calculators in middle school,” I say, not sure if that’s even true.

From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle