noun
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a systematized collection of data that can be accessed immediately and manipulated by a data-processing system for a specific purpose
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informal any large store of information
a database of knowledge
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of database
Explanation
A database is an organized body of information. Libraries have lots of databases to help you find books, articles, or information. Looking for some information? You might need to check a database, probably at the library or online. A database collects a bunch of information and resources, usually on a common subject. Some databases feature newspapers; others are related to legal issues. The police use databases to track criminals, and the government uses databases to track terrorists. Anywhere there's information being collected and accessed, there's probably a database keeping track of it all.
Vocabulary lists containing database
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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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:
Bonds in 2022 suffered their worst bear market since 1793, according to the database maintained by Edward McQuarrie, an emeritus professor at Santa Clara University.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Homeland Security has previously told news outlets it does not have a “domestic terrorist” database, but said it monitors incidents of “threats, assaults and obstruction” of its officers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Using the Ministry of Justice's online judgments database, the company identified 517 employment tribunal cases mentioning neurodivergent conditions in 2025, up from 265 in 2020.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
One forces prescribers to register with the manufacturer -- creating a national database that advocates say could pose a safety risk for doctors.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
When I logged out of the database a few minutes later, Bryce Lynch no longer existed.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
The app then compares those estimates with nutrition databases to calculate calories and other nutrients.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Asylum seekers are fingerprinted on arrival in the UK and checked against UK police databases, but these would not necessarily show a conviction from another country.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Hotel owners rely on chains’ brand recognition, customer databases and marketing services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
At a “20,000-foot level,” Hochman said, the databases available to his office suggested a vast majority of plaintiffs were never housed in the facilities where they said they were abused.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
As a scythe’s apprentice, Citra had access to databases and information that most people didn’t.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
