Computers. the programs used to direct the operation of a computer, as well as documentation giving instructions on how to use them.Compare hardware(def 5).
anything that is not hardware but is used with hardware, especially audiovisual materials, as film, tapes, records, etc.: a studio fully equipped but lacking software.
TelevisionSlang. prepackaged materials, as movies or reruns, used to fill out the major part of a station's program schedule.
1851, soft wares, "woolen or cotton fabrics," also, "relatively perishable consumer goods," from soft + ware (n.). The computer sense is a separate coinage from 1960, based on hardware.
The programs, programming languages, and data that direct the operations of a computer system. Word processing programs and Internet browsers are examples of software. Compare hardware.
