programming language

American  

[proh-gram-ing lang-gwij] / ˈproʊ græm ɪŋ ˌlæŋ gwɪdʒ /

noun

1. a high-level language used to write computer programs, as C++ or Python, or, sometimes, an assembly language.

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programming language British  

noun

1. a simple language system designed to facilitate the writing of computer programs See high-level language low-level language machine code

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programming language Scientific  

/ prō′grăm′ĭng /

1. An artificial language used to write instructions that can be translated into machine language and then executed by a computer. English and other natural languages are not used as programming languages because they cannot be easily translated into machine language.

2. ◆ A compiled language is a language in which the set of instructions (or code) written by the programmer is converted into machine language by special software called a compiler prior to being executed. C++ and SmallTalk are examples of compiled languages.

3. ◆ An interpreted language is a language in which the set of instructions (or code) written by the programmer is converted into machine language by special software called a compiler prior to being executed. Most scripting and macro languages are interpreted languages.

4. See also program

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programming language Cultural  

1. In computer technology, a set of conventions in which instructions for the machine are written. There are many languages that allow humans to communicate with computers; C++, BASIC, and Java are some common ones.

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Etymology

Origin of programming language

First recorded in 1955–60

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

programming language

Critical vulnerabilities in PHP — a commonly used programming language — that website operators are rushing to patch are also concerns among managers he’s speaking to.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Companies and government agencies rushed this week to patch two critical flaws in PHP, the programming language that runs a large share of the world's websites.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

Meanwhile, the Metro warns readers to "prepare for the worst" after websites around the world were taken offline after cyber-security flaws were revealed in a globally-used programming language, PHP.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

PHP is a programming language, created more than 30 years ago, that at one point was nearly everywhere on the Web to pull data from back-end servers and build dynamic webpages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Said of a capability of a programming language or hardware that is available by its design without needing cleverness to implement: "In APL, we get the matrix operations for free."

From The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0, 24 Jul 1996 by Eric S. Raymond

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