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

---

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

---

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.

---

Other Word Forms

• data processor
  noun

Etymology

Origin of data processing

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

But Palantir insists it simply provides powerful data processing services that can help surface nuggets of useful information in the flood available to government agencies and big companies.

From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026

AI data processing is incredibly energy-intensive, taking up huge amounts of power - and even water.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

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

The negative catalyst was a blog post from Anthropic, which highlighted a new Claude Code feature that automates the modernization of common business-oriented language, a programming language used for data processing.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026

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