computing

American  

[kuhm-pyoo-ting] / kəmˈpyu tɪŋ /

noun

1. the use of a computer to process data or perform calculations.

2. the act of calculating or reckoning.

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computing British  

/ kəmˈpjuːtɪŋ /

noun

1. the activity of using computers and writing programs for them

2. the study of computers and their implications

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adjective

1. of or relating to computers

   computing skills

Etymology

Origin of computing

First recorded in 1640–50; compute + -ing ¹

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.

Example Sentences

IonQ fell 9.3% even after the quantum computing company posted first-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

SpaceX will supply 300 megawatts of new computing capacity, using more than 220,000 Nvidia GPUs, by the end of the month.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Anthropic will use all computing capacity at SpaceX’s Colossus 1 data center, receiving 300 megawatts and 220,000 Nvidia GPUs.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

One of the largest misconceptions the firm sees today is the belief that quantum will completely upend traditional computing.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

It was sound advice, but Eric was downcast at the idea that he was unqualified to apply directly to the computing program.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

Related Words

• bookkeeping