data

American  

[dey-tuh, dat-uh] / ˈdeɪ tə, ˈdæt ə /

noun

1. (usually used with a singular verb) information in digital format, as encoded text or numbers, or multimedia images, audio, or video.

   The data was corrupted and can’t be retrieved.

   Data is entered for immediate processing by the computer.

2. (used with a singular verb) a body of facts; information.

   Additional data is available from the president of the firm.

3. (used with a plural verb) individual facts, statistics, or items of information.

   These data represent the results of our analyses.

4. a plural of datum.

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data British  

/ ˈdeɪtə, ˈdɑːtə /

plural noun

1. a series of observations, measurements, or facts; information

2. Also called: information.  computing the information operated on by a computer program

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Usage

Data is a plural of datum, which is originally a Latin noun meaning “something given.” Today, data is used in English both as a plural noun meaning “facts or pieces of information” ( These data are described more fully elsewhere ) and as a singular mass noun meaning “information” ( Not much data is available on flood control in Brazil ). It is usually treated as a plural in scientific and academic writing. In the digital or computer sense it is almost always treated as a mass noun and used with a singular verb. In other types of writing it is either singular or plural. The Latinate singular datum meaning “a piece of information” is now rare in all types of writing. In surveying and civil engineering, where datum has specialized senses, the plural form is datums.

Although now often used as a singular noun, data is properly a plural

Other Word Forms

• predata
  noun

Etymology

Origin of data

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin, plural of datum ( def. )

Explanation

Data is information such as facts and numbers used to analyze something or make decisions. Computer data is information in a form that can be processed by a computer. Data is the plural of Latin datum, "something given." In scientific use, the word data is often considered to be a plural noun meaning "pieces of information": The data are reliable. But most people think of data as a mass noun meaning "information" and use the word with a singular verb and pronoun: The data is reliable because it was tested by experts.

Example Sentences

“MRVL is highly exposed to data center buildouts, with ~75% of revenue coming from its Data Center segment,” Stifel analyst Tore Svanberg wrote last week.

From Barron's • May 27, 2026

The correlation coefficient between the Dow and S&P 500 over the past 40 years, as well as over the past year, is 0.99, according to a MarketWatch analysis of FactSet Data.

From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026

“State media ending up in the training data will affect LLMs generally,” Roberts, co-director of China Data Lab at the University of California San Diego, told me.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

Data collected by the organisation indicates Arsenal's England midfielder Declan Rice and Liverpool's Dutch centre-back Virgil van Dijk could be at increased risk of injury or reduced form next season because of their workloads.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

The headline Manufacturing Data Helps Invigorate Wall Street could have used one, and a preposition would also have come in handy in Teacher Strikes Idle Kids and Textron Makes Offer to Screw Company Stockholders.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• dossier
• evidence
• goods
• info
• input
• knowledge
• picture
• statistics
• testimony