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definitions

modem

[moh-duh m, -dem]Computers.
See more synonyms for modem on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an electronic device that makes possible the transmission of data to or from a computer via telephone or other communication lines.
verb (used with object)
  1. to send or receive (information, data, or the like) via a modem.

Origin of modem

mo(dulator)-dem(odulator)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for modem

hardware, modem, supercomputer, computer, CPU, microcomputer

Examples from the Web for modem

Contemporary Examples of modem

Historical Examples of modem

  • I published a few book on the Internet and they can be freely downloaded by anyone who has a computer or a modem.

    After the Rain

    Sam Vaknin

  • My son has agreed to give his daughter to the Prince of Modem, at which I very sincerely rejoice.

    The Memoirs of the Louis XIV. and The Regency, Complete

    Elizabeth-Charlotte, Duchesse d'Orleans

  • The modem reader may form his own estimate of the poet's art, and that estimate will probably not be high.

    Four Arthurian Romances

    Chretien DeTroyes

British Dictionary definitions for modem

modem

noun
  1. computing a device for connecting two computers by a telephone line, consisting of a modulator that converts computer signals into audio signals and a corresponding demodulator

Word Origin for modem

C20: from mo (dulator) dem (odulator)
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
Word Origin and History for modem
n.

"device to convert digital signals to analog and vice versa," 1958, coined from first elements of modulator + demodulator.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
modem in Science

modem

[mō′dəm]
  1. A device for transmitting and receiving digital data over telephone wires. Modems send data by converting it into audio signals and receive it by converting audio signals back into digital form. The speed at which modems transmit data is measured in bps (bits per second).
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
modem in Culture

modem

[(moh-duhm, moh-dem)]

A device that links a personal computer to a telephone line, so that the computer can receive information from other computers.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.