noun
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a systematized collection of data that can be accessed immediately and manipulated by a data-processing system for a specific purpose
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informal any large store of information
a database of knowledge
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of database
Explanation
A database is an organized body of information. Libraries have lots of databases to help you find books, articles, or information. Looking for some information? You might need to check a database, probably at the library or online. A database collects a bunch of information and resources, usually on a common subject. Some databases feature newspapers; others are related to legal issues. The police use databases to track criminals, and the government uses databases to track terrorists. Anywhere there's information being collected and accessed, there's probably a database keeping track of it all.
Vocabulary lists containing database
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
The Miami-Dade County court case database confirmed that Lavandeira filed a petition for temporary custody on Aug. 7.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The EU's new pact, which was nearly 10 years in the making, introduces mandatory screening and an updated database to track those arriving in the bloc.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The company also said it would require case codes for all database searches and reduce the default data-retention period from 30 to seven days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
To find out, I analyzed my auditing firm’s database of stock market timers back to 1980.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
It took her less than two minutes to reach the database for attorney assignments.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
The lab, housed in an unmarked office in a D.C. suburb, had access to the government’s most sensitive databases, from suspicious activity reports to arrest records.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
They use mashed-together databases to sense patterns and retrieve verbiage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
“These databases and tracking devices are important tools for law enforcement to conduct lawful investigations,” Los Angeles County Dist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Despite a total population of just over six million people, the Baltic states possessed around 33,000 startups last year, according to data from Lursoft IT, a Latvian company specialising in business and financial databases.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Of these, nine had distinct patterns of small mutations that the researchers could 'not find in any databases or in the literature.”
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
