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Synonyms

word processing

American  
Or word-processing

noun

  1. writing, editing, and production of documents, as letters, reports, and books, through the use of a computer program or a complete computer system designed to facilitate rapid and efficient manipulation of text. WP

word processing British  

noun

  1. the composition of documents using a computer system to input, edit, store, and print them

"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

Etymology

Origin of word processing

First recorded in 1970–75

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.

"We sometimes overvalue the role of proprietary software in our organisations," Mr Maisto says, pointing out that for key services like word processing and email, open-source solutions work just fine.

From BBC • Aug. 17, 2025

For example, it is well established how much energy a computer with word processing software uses per hour.

From Science Daily • Apr. 2, 2024

At its heart, says Australian technologist David Gerard, ChatGPT is “a stupendously scaled-up autocomplete,” like a word processing program predicting the end of a word or sentence you’ve started typing.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 13, 2023

The platform will support its Pages word processing, Numbers spreadsheet and Keynote slide deck apps, as well as iMovie and GarageBand for video and music production.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 24, 2023

Browse ——— To view and possibly edit a file of data on screen similar to handling text in a word processing document.

From The Online World by De Presno, Odd

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.