- present participle of compute.
computing
Americannoun
-
the use of a computer to process data or perform calculations.
-
the act of calculating or reckoning.
noun
-
the activity of using computers and writing programs for them
-
the study of computers and their implications
adjective
Etymology
Origin of computing
Explanation
Computing is the act of calculating something––adding it up, multiplying it, or doing more complex math functions to it. Computers are named for this process, because they can compute faster than most people. The verb compute comes from a Latin word for pruning. You can think of it like cleaning up piles of data to get a clear result. If you run a shop and have lots of figures, for items sold and returned, and money paid for salaries and overhead, then you'll have to do some computing to know how much money you actually earned that day. It's also a type of engineering.
Vocabulary lists containing computing
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.
Even before ChatGPT heralded the beginning of the AI boom, Chinese policy documents were "talking about the idea that computing power is correlated with national power", said Stokols.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Department for Transport is providing £2.65m towards the programme, while Google is contributing £1.4m through AI research, engineering and computing infrastructure.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Peter Stone, professor and head of the University of Texas at Austin’s school of computing, is continuing to compete for government sources such as the NSF.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
They pointed to SpaceX’s “leverage” from its latest frontier AI model and its position as a provider of computing power.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
The school’s computing school was one of the hottest in the country, the admissions counselor said, and Eric would be up against kids with outstanding grades and achievements.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
