source code

American  

[sawrs kohd] / ˈsɔrs ˌkoʊd /

noun

Computers.

1. program instructions written in a programming language that is readable by humans and that must be converted to machine language before being executed.

---

source code British  

noun

1. computing the original form of a computer program before it is converted into a machine-readable code

---

source code Scientific  

/ sôrs /

1. Code written by a programmer in a high-level language and readable by people but not computers. Source code must be converted to object code or machine language by a compiler before a computer can read or execute the program.

2. Compare object code

---

Compare meaning

How does source-code compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• source code vs. object code

Example Sentences

Last November, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group published a report showing that bad actors are deploying AI-enhanced malware with the capability to rewrite its source code midexecution to avoid antivirus software.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026

So it was big news when the source code for Anthropic’s crown jewel Claude Code unintentionally surfaced.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Except this time, the company posted to GitHub a type of file that linked back to the source code that outsiders could download and interpret.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Anthropic recently accidentally released part of its internal source code for Claude Code due to "human error".

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

And he would also have had access to the planet’s source code, if he’d wanted to hide something here.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline