data processing

American  

[dey-tuh pros-es-ing, dat-uh, dah-tuh] / ˈdeɪ tə ˌprɒs ɛs ɪŋ, ˈdæt ə, ˈdɑ tə /

noun

1. processing of information, especially the handling of information by computers in accordance with strictly defined procedures and operations, as aggregation, sorting, analysis, or validation. DP

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data processing British  

noun

1. 1. a sequence of operations performed on data, esp by a computer, in order to extract information, reorder files, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a data-processing centre

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data processing Cultural  

1. Either the preparation of data for processing by a computer, or the storage and processing of raw data by the computer itself.

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Other Word Forms

• data processor noun

Etymology

Origin of data processing

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Another rough month means the information sector, which includes telecommunications, data processing and IT workers, has shed more than 300,000 jobs since its recent peak in late 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

Nvidia has been able to expand its networking revenue with its Spectrum-X Ethernet platform, Network Interface Cards and BlueField data processing units, he added.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026

The first is the move from CPUs to GPUs for tasks like data processing.

From Barron's • Nov. 20, 2025

"Even with adaptive optics, the photonic lantern was so sensitive to the wavefront fluctuations that I had to develop a new data processing technique to filter out the remaining atmospheric turbulence."

From Science Daily • Oct. 25, 2025

With a little luck and some hard work, he predicted, Sasha might be able to hold down a low-level job doing data processing.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater