numerical control

American  

noun

Computers.

1. control of a machine tool, or other device used in a manufacturing process, by a computer, other control circuitry, or recorded digital commands.

---

numerical control British  

noun

1. engineering a form of computer control applied to machine tools, by which an operation is directed from numerical data stored on tape or punched on cards

---

Other Word Forms

• numerically controlled adjective

Etymology

Origin of numerical control

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Computer numerical control, or CNC, milling machines — which usually cost a few thousand dollars — are devices that guide drills to produce intricate and precise mechanical parts from slabs of metal.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2024

A CNC, or computer numerical control, machine is then used to cut into the metal and create the exact design and button holes.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 4, 2023

They also have computer numerical control, or CNC, machines for milling, grinding and other functions made in Austria, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and the United States, the report said.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 15, 2023

Unhappy with the first prototype, he bought a C.N.C., or computer numerical control, machine that he kept in his small Manhattan apartment to better understand the manufacturing process.

From New York Times • Jul. 17, 2018

By 1951 Getty had won numerical control of Tidewater, and in 1953 he elected all but one of his directors to the board.

From Time Magazine Archive