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Perl

American

[purl] / pɜrl /

Digital Technology, Trademark.

a high-level scripting language, originally created to help automate text processing, now used more broadly.

Perl British

/ pɜːl /

noun

a computer language that is used for text manipulation, esp on the Internet

"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 Perl

Coined in 1987 by Perl's creator, Larry Wall, U.S. computer programmer (born 1954)

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.

Isobel Perl started her own skincare brand from her parents' house in Watford five years ago.

From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025

“When Schubert mentions Balanchine and Stravinsky’s youth in Russia, Parker offers a delicious vista of onion-domed churches silhouetted against a darkening sunset,” Jed Perl wrote in his review in The Times.

From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2024

In New York City, meanwhile, soil expert Sara Perl Egendorf saw that residents weren't sure how best to protect against soil lead contamination in urban gardens.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2023

Perl said she was mortified when she saw the misinformation about the study circulating online.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 15, 2021

The Stability Research Division, where Dorothy Hoover worked, was a particular target, as Perl had been a member of the group before leaving for Cleveland.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023