software
[ sawft-wair, soft- ]
/ ˈsɔftˌwɛər, ˈsɒft- /
noun
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.
Television Slang. prepackaged materials, as movies or reruns, used to fill out the major part of a station's program schedule.
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What’s The Word for More Than One Software?The word software is a mass noun because it can be used to refer to a mass (or nonspecific number) of computing programs or products. Mass nouns function as both singular and plural nouns. They can describe either one item, multiple items of the same type, or an entire category of items. Some examples include bread, rice, hair, garbage, and ice. It isn’t necessary to add …
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Nearby words
softkey, softly, softly-softly, softness, softs, software, software house, software platform, softwood, softy, sog
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for software
British Dictionary definitions for software
software
/ (ˈsɒftˌwɛə) /
noun
video cassettes and discs for use with a particular video system
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for software
software
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science definitions for software
software
[ sôft′wâr′ ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Culture definitions for software
software
The programs and instructions that run a computer, as opposed to the actual physical machinery and devices that compose the hardware.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.