coding

American  

[koh-ding] / ˈkoʊ dɪŋ /

noun

1. Computers. the act or process of writing code, or the instructions for a program or piece of software.

   There’s a bit of coding left to do, and then we’ll be ready to beta-test.

   He likes to do the software design, but leaves the actual coding to others.

2. the act or process of expressing a message in words, images, sounds, or any other set of symbols or signs; encoding.

   The secret coding of ship messages hindered rescue efforts during the war.

   In advertising, the coding of your message can make or break your marketing strategy.

3. the act or process of categorizing or identifying a set of things by assigning a code to them.

   Using color coding along with the bin labels will increase the sorting productivity and accuracy of mail clerks.

4. Statistics. the act of transforming a random variable into one that is more convenient for certain types of analysis or for the removal of invalid data.

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Etymology

Origin of coding

First recorded in 1865–70 originally used for telegraphy; code + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Microsoft limited access to an Anthropic program for some employees who can use an internal coding assistant instead.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

The latest fundraising round confirms Anthropic's place as one of the most significant players in AI, with the startup led by Dario Amodei having drawn fans for its coding powers and state-of-the-art models.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

The meteoric rise of AI agents—autonomous tools that perform a range of tasks using machine learning, from coding to organizing travel plans—has also resurrected the market for CPUs, or central processing units.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

Finn urged Figma to trim its product suite down to its core design, coding, and virtual whiteboard tools.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

Others offered her “unbreakable” coding and cipher systems—usually for a high price.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield