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• machine-readable
  machine-readable

  adjective

  of or relating to data encoded on an appropriate medium and in a form suitable for processing by computer.
• machine readable
  machine readable

  adjective

  (of data) in a form in which it can be fed into a computer

machine-readable

American  

[muh-sheen-ree-duh-buhl] / məˈʃinˈri də bəl /

adjective

Computers.

1. of or relating to data encoded on an appropriate medium and in a form suitable for processing by computer.

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machine readable British  

adjective

1. (of data) in a form in which it can be fed into a computer

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Etymology

Origin of machine-readable

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Then think of “business ontology” as a digital, machine-readable version of the company, like the New York & Erie Railroad’s signaling tree.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

Claude Code Security focuses on securing code bases, while JFrog helps companies manage and secure software binaries—the conversion of plain-text code into machine-readable language.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

The first security watermark was added in 1972 and machine-readable passports were introduced in 1988.

From BBC • Oct. 10, 2025

The company then proceeded to strip the books’ bindings, cut their pages and scan them into digital and machine-readable forms, according to the decision.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2025

Copyright Office records in machine-readable form cataloged from January 1, 1978, to the present, including registration and renewal information and recorded documents, are now available for searching on the Internet.

From Copyright Basics by Library of Congress. Copyright Office