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.
The latter is paying SpaceX $1.25 billion a month for access to AI computing capacity.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
The Trump administration invested $2 billion in quantum computing, and SpaceX moved toward an IPO, boosting aerospace and tech stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
OpenAI is committed to spending as much as $1.4 trillion on computing resources over the next several years, CEO Sam Altman said last October.
From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026
CEO Elon Musk believes that orbital computing will be cost-competitive with Earth-based computing in a few years.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
In the West Area computing office where Dorothy was beginning work, the members of the calculating machine symphony hailed from the Virginia State College for Negroes, and Arkansas AM&N, and Hampton Institute.
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.
