laptop
Americannoun
-
laptops
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of laptop
Explanation
Laptop is short for laptop computer. The big computer on your desk is a desktop, and the small one on your lap is a laptop. See what they did there? Now shoo that lapdog and get to work! There are other kinds of portable computers, but a laptop usually has a screen that folds over the keyboard when you’re not using it. The earliest versions of laptops were made in the 1970s, and they've become lighter, thinner, more portable, and much more popular since then. The word laptop was coined in 1984, based on — you guessed it — desktop, which describes the heavier, non-portable computer.
Vocabulary lists containing laptop
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Units 2–3
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Computer Terms
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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.
See Examples For:
For two semesters, I dressed up to teach from my living room laptop, receiving excellent evaluations.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
"I think we have about four to five passengers that were burned by the laptop. The laptop is contained about mid-aircraft."
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Authorities seized his cellphone and laptop aboard his private plan in Chicago in September, according to Bloomberg.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Rather than shoveling your food down while hovering over your laptop or phone, slow down and pay attention to your food as you eat.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
The first thing she did was run a few tests of her own to make sure the people from Sinclair Scientifica hadn’t planted any software on the laptop to spy on them.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
The theatre said the items were stolen on Monday along with other items of tech, including six laptops and an iPad.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The chip shortage is pushing people to buy cheaper laptops than desktops, which can last up to a decade, said Brousse, in Tokyo on his honeymoon.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
On a recent weekday, about two dozen foreign attendees worked on laptops in the Network School’s cafe, which sold health supplements including creatine and collagen peptides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Lithium-ion batteries currently power most smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles, and many large energy storage systems.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
We didn’t have laptops or cell phones like kids in America have today.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Definitions 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.
