compute
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to reckon; calculate.
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to use a computer or calculator.
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Informal. to make sense; add up.
His reasons for doing that just don't compute.
noun
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Outer space is vast beyond compute.
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the processing, memory, and storage resources required for a computer, network, or program to function.
To meet today's business demands, you need a solid foundation of compute.
adjective
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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computabilitynoun
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computistnoun
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uncomputablenessnoun
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miscomputeverb
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precomputeverb
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recomputeverb (used with object)
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computableadjective
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uncomputableadjective
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uncomputedadjective
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computablyadverb
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uncomputablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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computesimple
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computessimple
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have computedperfect
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has computedperfect
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am computingprogressive
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are computingprogressive
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is computingprogressive
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have been computingperfect progressive
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has been computingperfect progressive
Past
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computedsimple
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had computedperfect
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was computingprogressive
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were computingprogressive
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had been computingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of compute
First recorded in 1375–1425, for an earlier sense; 1580–90 compute for def. 6; (for the verb) from Latin computāre, from com- com- + putāre “to think”; (for the noun) late Middle English from Middle French from Late Latin computus “calculation, number,” noun derivative of computāre; cf. count 1, putative
Explanation
When you solve a mathematical problem, you compute the answer. To compute is to calculate, either literally or figuratively. Computers do the math for you, faster than humans ever can. You'll often hear someone say that something "does not compute." This means it doesn't add up, it doesn't make sense. You might compute how long it will take you to get to school or the likelihood that your mother will let you stay out late.
Vocabulary lists containing compute
Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 4
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The Number System
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Number and Operations: Fractions
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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.
See Examples For:
"Without power there's no compute, without the compute there's no knowledge economy," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
"We're a small island but the internet is borderless, we need more compute within our shores," he said - suggesting the UK needed to build more data centres.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
A cheap yet competitive artificial-intelligence model out of China has reignited the debate over the massive amounts of money that companies are spending on memory components and compute power.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Meta Platforms fell 1.9% after the company said its massive AI data center in Louisiana had nearly doubled in projected cost to more than $50 billion, supersizing the project to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Lots of times, that ability to compute and calculate information rapidly was helpful, like when he was reading about complex mathematical theories.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
The harsh reality remains that anything that computes needs some form of system memory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
With quantum computers, it will be possible to run massive computes to see how different molecules react with each other to find out what works and with what side-effects.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
“This new math can simulate them, because it computes the same way nature does.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2025
FanGraphs also computes wins above replacement, known as fWAR.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2025
And during that week after his birthday, Mama Nee is working third shift, so that computes to just about every night.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
“I computed the statistics,” he says, “and decided it was fifty-fifty.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Somewhere in a Google lab, a chip called Willow just computed the structure of a molecule 13,000 times faster than the most powerful supercomputer on Earth.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 23, 2025
But a new study questions whether scans—specifically computed tomography scans—are causing more cancer than we thought, specifically among the patients who receive them.
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2025
The best he’ll do is trust they know he’s computed their running speed against the rate of the closing doors to ensure the humans make it in the nick of time.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2024
Jesse had computed how many paychecks they would get—two for him and four for Eric—if they waited a month before leaving.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Contracts to supply computing power for artificial-intelligence calculations have become such a fixture of the craze that whole industries have begun reorganizing around them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
By extracting more computing power from conventional hardware, the approach could expand the range of quantum dynamics problems scientists can study.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
The massive computing power could make it easier to monitor the impacts of climate change over time and make more accurate predictions going forward.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
The findings add to the debate over where classical computing ends and quantum advantage begins.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
He got them to do “computing runs” for him—which meant getting Katherine to do computing runs for them.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
