program
Americannoun
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programs
plural
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a plan of action to accomplish a specified end.
a school lunch program.
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a plan or schedule of activities, procedures, etc., to be followed.
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a broadcasted television or radio production or similar internet-based content produced for distribution.
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Also called computer program. Digital Technology. a precise sequence of instructions enabling a computer to perform a task; a piece of software.
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a collection of principles, actions, objectives, etc., established with a long-term goal in mind; platform; policy.
A review of our education initiatives and programs suggests we are meeting our goals.
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a list of items, pieces, performers, etc., in a musical, theatrical, or other entertainment.
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an entertainment with reference to its pieces or numbers.
a program of American and French music.
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a planned, coordinated group of activities, procedures, etc., often for a specific purpose, or a facility offering such a series of activities.
a drug rehabilitation program;
a graduate program in linguistics.
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a prospectus or syllabus.
a program of courses being offered.
verb (used with object)
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programs,
present (3rd person singular)
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programmed,
past participle, past
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programed,
past participle, past
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programming,
present participle
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programing
present participle
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to schedule as part of a program.
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Digital Technology. to write code for (a computer program or application).
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to insert or encode specific operating instructions into (a machine or apparatus).
We'll program the bells to ring at ten-minute intervals.
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to insert (instructions) into a machine or apparatus.
An automatic release has been programmed into the lock as a safety feature.
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to cause to absorb or incorporate automatic responses, attitudes, or the like; condition.
Our parents programmed us to respect our elders.
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to set, regulate, or modify so as to produce a specific response or reaction.
Program your eating habits to eliminate sweets.
verb (used without object)
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programs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
programmed,
past participle, past
-
programed,
past participle, past
-
programming,
present participle
-
programing
present participle
-
to plan or write a program.
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Digital Technology. to write computer code.
noun
verb
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(tr) to feed a program into (a computer)
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(tr) to arrange (data) into a suitable form so that it can be processed by a computer
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(intr) to write a program
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A organized system of instructions and data interpreted by a computer. Programming instructions are often referred to as code.
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See more at source code See also programming language
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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programsimple
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programssimple
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have programedperfect
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have programmedperfect
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has programedperfect
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has programmedperfect
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am programingprogressive
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am programmingprogressive
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are programingprogressive
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are programmingprogressive
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is programingprogressive
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is programmingprogressive
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have been programingperfect progressive
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have been programmingperfect progressive
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has been programingperfect progressive
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has been programmingperfect progressive
Past
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programedsimple
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programmedsimple
-
had programedperfect
-
had programmedperfect
-
was programingprogressive
-
was programmingprogressive
-
were programingprogressive
-
were programmingprogressive
-
had been programingperfect progressive
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had been programmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of program
First recorded in 1625–35; from Late Latin programma, from Greek prógramma “public notice in writing”; see pro- 2, -gram 1
Explanation
A program is a sequence or plan. At your niece's dance recital you may be dismayed to discover that her piece is 19th on the program. Settle in! Program comes from the Greek for "public notice." When you go to the theater, you'll be handed a program with the names of the play and the performers. We call television or radio shows programs, especially if they’re on regularly. If you're trying to get in shape, you'll need an exercise program. To program is to plan or organize something, or to write the code and execute the commands that make computers work.
Vocabulary lists containing program
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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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:
It was a big week for frequent-flier program changes, with Southwest and United shaking things up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Although Nazi Germany pursued nuclear research through a program known as the Uranprojekt, historians have long debated how close its scientists came to developing a functioning reactor.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
“You cast your line, and you don’t know what you’ll pull in,” he said of his program.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Inspired by the Birthright Israel program for Jewish youth, the nonprofit sponsored trips for Cuban Americans to connect with Cubans on the island.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
It’s crucial that pandas in the release program not become acclimated to humans, for several reasons.
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
“He essentially gave birth to the idea that in television, the writer is the most important member of the team,” remarks Mr. Sepinwall, who seems to have watched every available recording of programs involving Serling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Although the study was relatively small and participants chose their training programs, its findings support the idea that meaningful physical improvements remain possible well into older adulthood.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
The EndeavourLA fundraising campaign helped acquire and temporarily display the shuttle while supporting ongoing exhibits, programs and operations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
These programs provide students with military classes and training at civilian universities alongside civilian college degree requirements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Sometimes, he’d sit in the theater seats after a game, and literally hundreds of people would hand their programs to him for his reluctantly scrawled signature.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Thirty years ago, we might have hailed as rare and consequential any dozen weeks in which music by a mere handful of living composers was programed as the regular course of a classical music season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2022
Spain's biggest lender accidentally made a second payment Saturday to about 75,000 people and firms due for one-off or programed payments from 2,000 businesses with accounts at its U.K. unit.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 2021
Co-founder and chief executive Philippe Goldman says the robots have been programed to maintain top quality control.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2021
We’re talking about a system that has to be programed sequentially and that can only do one thing at a time.
From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2021
I vaguely remember a TV story from the 50s that showed a room size computer at DuPont that was programed to generate millions of syllables for prefixes and syllables for suffixes.
From New York Times ● Jan. 15, 2015
After Lisa Moore’s cancer treatments stopped working, the 64-year-old enrolled in a study to try out a new type of drug, one that is programmed to go after disease in cells in a novel way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
On the surface, it seems like harmless video game humor, and I’m sure we’ve all had encounters with actual humans that resembled interacting with tautological machines programmed with limited responses.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
The excess immune cells can then die through apoptosis, a controlled form of programmed cell death that allows the body to remove unneeded, damaged or cancerous cells without causing inflammation or harming nearby tissue.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Agentic AI, in particular, will be central to software development, Huang said, referring to systems programmed to be autonomous and perform tasks without supervision.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Mean and nice are human words. I was programmed to be efficient,” Guardian says.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
More Spheres would be bullish for the company because of royalty and other income, as well as the ability to distribute original programing in multiple locations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025
Non-routine cognitive jobs include public relations and computer programing.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2024
Indeed, Kunst’s submission to the 2018 CRC points to this TV programing note in the Miami News for channel 10’s Florida Journal on Oct.
From Slate ● Jan. 18, 2024
“White gay men are the one segment that are most likely represented on our screens, whether it’s programing or ads,” said Lisette Arsuaga, co-founder of the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing.
From New York Times ● May 25, 2023
The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 amended section 111 by substituting "statutory" for "compulsory" and "programming" for "programing," wherever they appeared.
From Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, Circular 92 by United States
Instead of programming the humanoids under controlled conditions, Tau is sending its robots into homes to learn through first-hand experience.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
AI is surpassing human abilities in pursuits from mathematics to computer programming, while threatening to alter or even eradicate many jobs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Arts for LA CEO Gustavo Herrera presented Mosaic LA, a community-led initiative intended to coordinate neighborhood cultural programming and sustain investment beyond 2028.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Just going off that, I’d say it’s a recognition of a much more competitive landscape, which means being able to continue to invest aggressively in programming that will improve engagement time on the platform.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
She stares at me like I have a programming glitch.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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