programmable

American  

[proh-gram-uh-buhl, proh-gram-] / ˈproʊ græm ə bəl, proʊˈgræm- /

Or programable

adjective

1. capable of being programmed.

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noun

1. an electronic device, as a calculator or telephone, that can be programmed to perform specific tasks.

programmable British  

/ prəʊˈɡræməbəl /

adjective

1. (esp of a device or operation) capable of being programmed for automatic operation or computer processing

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Other Word Forms

• nonprogrammable adjective
• programmability noun
• reprogrammable adjective
• unprogrammable adjective

Etymology

Origin of programmable

First recorded in 1955–60; program + -able

Example Sentences

The instrument will allow Bank of Montreal to offer traditional commercial-bank funds in digital form, made available to a broader set of BMO clients for business-to-business payments, treasury movements, and programmable cash applications.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

“This guy just did something that looks like the first version of programmable medicine that people have been talking about but hasn’t really happened yet,” Jackson said in a video posted on LinkedIn.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026

“So when biology becomes programmable like this, entire industries change. Just like software ate media, just like software ate retail, software is now on the verge of eating medicine,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026

More than three quarters of this new capacity would come from wind power and "programmable technologies such as Battery Energy Storage Systems", Enel said.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Babbage designed schematics for a programmable computer, something that could process mathematical equations in place of the human mind.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel