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microcomputer

American  
[mahy-kroh-kuhm-pyoo-ter] / ˈmaɪ kroʊ kəmˌpyu tər /

noun

  1. a compact computer, with less capacity and capability than a minicomputer, consisting of a microprocessor and other components.


microcomputer British  
/ ˈmaɪkrəʊkəmˈpjuːtə /

noun

  1. Sometimes shortened to: micro.  a small computer in which the central processing unit is contained in one or more silicon chips

"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

Etymology

Origin of microcomputer

First recorded in 1970–75; micro- + computer

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.

Mr. Gates’s friend Paul Allen just happened to see a cover article in the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, titled “World’s First Microcomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models.”

From New York Times • Oct. 29, 2011

Last April, for example, Microcomputer Systems Corp. of Sunnyvale, Calif, won a preliminary $2 million judgment against two former employees who had started a rival firm.

From Time Magazine Archive

Earlier this year, Hayes Microcomputer, the largest supplier of computer modems, won $11 million in damages from three Silicon Valley firms that copied Hayes' software for sending and receiving data.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Great Britain, `fred', `jim' and `sheila' are common metasyntactic variables because their uppercase versions were official names given to the 3 memory areas that held I/O status registers on the lovingly-remembered BBC Microcomputer!

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.

We are continually improving and updating our TRS-80 Microcomputer System.

From Radio Shack TRS-80 Expansion Interface: Operator's Manual Catalog Numbers: 26-1140, 26-1141, 26-1142 by Anonymous

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