noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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miscomputationnoun
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noncomputationnoun
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recomputationnoun
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computationaladjective
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computativeadjective
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computativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of computation
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin computātiōn-, stem of computātiō, from computāt(us) “reckoned” (past participle of computāre “to reckon, sum up”; see compute) + -iō -ion
Explanation
Computation is what you do when you calculate something, like a simple math problem or something involving quantum mechanics or — worse — even your taxes. People have invented all kinds of machines to help with computation, from the abacus to the computer, and, in fact, when computers were first invented (and when one computer could easily fill a large room), using a computer was called computation. Much of what made computers so revolutionary was that in a relatively short time they could do a complex mathematical computation that would take a human many lifetimes to do.
Vocabulary lists containing computation
"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
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Expressions and Equations
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Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience" (1849)
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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:
Much of the investment in frontier AI computation, which accounts for 50% or more of the cost of a large data center, depreciates in a few years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
"We spent months of computation time doing the imaging with our new techniques," Thorne said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
To investigate how much computation a single neuron can perform, the researchers created a new method for measuring the computational complexity of individual brain cells.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
The achievement reflects a broader transformation in neuroscience, where progress increasingly depends as much on engineering and computation as on biology.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
When Dorothy and the other West Computers signed up for computation classes in the 1950s, they registered to attend at Hampton Institute.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
He characterized AI capabilities as statistical computations and warned that assigning consciousness to AI erodes human dignity.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Their computations, which are in effect the switching on and off of microscopic silicon transistors that make up a chip, are actually silent.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Even so, some have already outgrown those computations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
International Business Machines said Thursday its research shows “quantum advantage”—a point at which quantum computers perform computations beyond conventional ones—and that these results can be rigorously validated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
But its very simplicity and the great ease which it lent to all computations put our arithmetic in the first rank of useful inventions.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
