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Synonyms

laptop

American  
[lap-top] / ˈlæpˌtɒp /

noun

  1. a portable computer, usually battery-powered, small enough to rest on the user's lap and having a screen that closes over the keyboard like a lid.

laptop British  
/ ˈlæpˌtɒp /

noun

  1. a personal computer that is small and light enough to be operated on the user's lap Compare palmtop computer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
laptop Cultural  

  1. A portable, compact personal computer that can run on a battery.

Etymology

Origin of laptop

First recorded in 1980–85; lap 1 + top 1

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.

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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.

Six years earlier, I’d been hunched over a laptop in Melbourne, writing my way into a new career after selling my business.

From Slate • Apr. 12, 2026

The new laptop, introduced on March 4, starts at $599, or $499 for students.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Analysts are bullish on Apple’s expansion into the budget laptop market, which could boost earnings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Another time, when Kavanagh was suffering ulcerative colitis, he brought his laptop and worked from a hospital bed.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

She was able to check out a laptop from the public library for three weeks.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

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.