laptop
Americannoun
noun
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.
Pauken gave Person 1 a laptop and a mobile phone, which had encrypted messaging apps connected to an account with usernames Catherine and Cathy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
She said she had even "pulled over beside the A465 to get the laptop out on the way home from Velindre" to take part in meetings remotely.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
On Monday, before the start of Taiwan's Computex expo, Nvidia unveiled a powerful laptop chip for Windows machines, staking its claim in the market for next-generation PCs integrated with AI tech.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
Eventually, there will be 30 laptop models and about 10 desktop models using the new chips, developed from Nvidia’s graphics-processing unit.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
Camille squeezes her laptop between glasses of water and lemonade right as the waitress arrives at our table.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
