computing
Americannoun
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the use of a computer to process data or perform calculations.
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the act of calculating or reckoning.
noun
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the activity of using computers and writing programs for them
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the study of computers and their implications
adjective
Etymology
Origin of computing
Explanation
Computing is the act of calculating something––adding it up, multiplying it, or doing more complex math functions to it. Computers are named for this process, because they can compute faster than most people. The verb compute comes from a Latin word for pruning. You can think of it like cleaning up piles of data to get a clear result. If you run a shop and have lots of figures, for items sold and returned, and money paid for salaries and overhead, then you'll have to do some computing to know how much money you actually earned that day. It's also a type of engineering.
Vocabulary lists containing computing
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.
Among the priority areas Kratsios promotes for this new funding model are AI, quantum computing and robotics.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
The proceeds will help fund Naver’s AI factory project, which includes an AI data center in South Korea and other computing infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The company recently raised its projected spending on computing power to around $750 billion through 2030, up from a projection of roughly $600 billion earlier this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The San Francisco-based startup, a chief rival to OpenAI, said the model tops industry benchmarks for coding and knowledge work while consuming fewer computing resources than earlier versions.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
For a black woman, there was exactly one track: it began at the back of the West Area computing office and ended at the front, where Dorothy Vaughan now sat.
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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
