digital
Americanadjective
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displaying a readout in numerical digits rather than by a pointer or hands on a dial.
a digital speedometer;
a digital watch.
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of, relating to, or using numerical calculations.
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of, relating to, or using data in the form of numerical digits.
a digital image;
digital devices.
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involving or using numerical digits expressed in a scale of notation, usually in the binary system, to represent discretely all variables occurring in a problem.
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available in electronic form; readable and manipulable by computer.
Scan these two pages so you'll have them as a digital document.
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pertaining to, noting, or making use of computers and computerized technologies, including the internet.
We are living in an increasingly digital world.
Digital activism uses social media to achieve political reform.
His blog is a great example of digital journalism.
Digital technology has revolutionized the music industry.
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of or relating to a digit or finger.
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resembling a digit or finger.
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manipulated with a finger or the fingertips.
a digital switch.
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having fingers or digitlike parts.
noun
adjective
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of, relating to, resembling, or possessing a digit or digits
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performed with the fingers
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representing data as a series of numerical values
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displaying information as numbers rather than by a pointer moving over a dial
a digital voltmeter
digital read-out
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electronics responding to discrete values of input voltage and producing discrete output voltage levels, as in a logic circuit
digital circuit
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a less common word for digitate
noun
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Anatomy Relating to or resembling a digit, especially a finger.
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Computer Science Representing or operating on data or information in numerical form. A digital clock uses a series of changing digits to represent time at discrete intervals, for example, every second. Modern computers rely on digital processing techniques, in which both data and the instructions for manipulating data are represented as binary numbers.
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Computer Science Compare analog See also logic gate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of digital
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin digitālis, equivalent to digit(us) ( see digit) + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
While digital refers to something that can be manipulated by the fingers (called "digits"), it also is a type of electronic signal that uses a binary code (a system using numbers, or "digits") to transmit information. The Latin digitus means "finger or toe," so it makes sense that by adding the suffix -al, which means "being like," we get the adjective digital, "fingerlike." The idea of the word referring to numerals began around 1938, soon becoming vital in computers. It's easy to imagine the connection between fingers and numbers, as the first mathematical "calculators" were probably fingers and toes. Digital recording appeared in 1960 to challenge analog, soon becoming the broadcasting standard for clearer signals.
Vocabulary lists containing digital
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Vocabulary from the Poem “Touchscreen” by Marshall Davis Jones
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Engineering - Introductory
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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.
Store merchants historically negotiated directly with consumer brands for shelf placement, and when centralized ad teams tried selling digital banner ads online, merchants worried their trade budgets would disappear, former employees said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
"The legacy automakers in China were bringing analogue toys to a digital party."
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
The business realities of independent digital journalism have changed profoundly over the years.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
The central bank seized the digital lender, and people took to the streets protesting and demanding Peña's resignation.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
The woman pushed up the arms of her long-sleeved shirt and turned to the digital readout of her treadmill.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
