laptop
Americannoun
-
laptops
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
The security agency released a video showing black-clad officers placing handcuffs on a man who is later shown powering up a laptop in front of the operatives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
At the event, Microsoft touted its Surface laptop, which runs on Nvidia systems and shows how the company is seeking to capitalize on AI beyond just software and the cloud.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
The plea agreement referenced at least two other victims, including one identified as E.Z., who Iza believed possessed a laptop containing large amount of cryptocurrency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Groskop also advises putting a post-it note on your laptop camera and reminding yourself to look there and not at people on the screen.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
“When you’re done reading your email, just close the laptop and come join us outside,” he said.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
That amount of computing power is equivalent to running five million laptops at the same time for an entire year.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
On Navarrete’s desk were two Mac laptops and another computer, all logged into immigration courts across the Southland.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
That attack resulted in a global disruption to Stryker’s Microsoft systems, which caused employee cellphones and laptops to stop working.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
The cost of computer-related technology typically found in consumer products such as laptops, cell phones and routers has never been a big and growing part of household budgets — until now.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Search warrant in hand, the cops were sure to be on their way to my apartment, my laptops.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
