software

[ sawft-wair, soft- ]
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noun
  1. 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. 3).

  2. 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.

  1. Television Slang. prepackaged materials, as movies or reruns, used to fill out the major part of a station's program schedule.

Origin of software

1
First recorded in 1955–60; soft + ware1

Words Nearby software

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use software in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for software

software

/ (ˈsɒftˌwɛə) /


noun
  1. computing the programs that can be used with a particular computer system: Compare hardware (def. 2)

  2. 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

Scientific definitions for software

software

[ sôftwâr′ ]


  1. 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.

Cultural 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.