digital computer

American  

noun

1. a computer that processes information in digital form.

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digital computer British  

noun

1. an electronic computer in which the input is discrete rather than continuous, consisting of combinations of numbers, letters, and other characters written in an appropriate programming language and represented internally in binary notation Compare analog computer

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Etymology

Origin of digital computer

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Bletchley Park’s wartime scientists developed Colossus, the first programmable digital computer, to crack the Lorenz cipher that Hitler used to communicate with his generals.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 31, 2023

Modern computer models -- for example for complex, potent AI applications -- push traditional digital computer processes to their limits.

From Science Daily • Oct. 23, 2023

You can’t really simulate this on a digital computer because it’s too complicated.

From Scientific American • Sep. 25, 2023

He also conceptualized the digital computer and anticipated artificial intelligence.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2019

PDP-3 is a stored program, general purpose digital computer.

From Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3) October, 1960 by Digital Equipment Corporation