digital

[ dij-i-tl ]
See synonyms for digital on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. displaying a readout in numerical digits rather than by a pointer or hands on a dial: a digital speedometer;a digital watch.

  2. of, relating to, or using numerical calculations.

  1. of, relating to, or using data in the form of numerical digits: a digital image;digital devices.

  2. involving or using numerical digits expressed in a scale of notation, usually in the binary system, to represent discretely all variables occurring in a problem.

  3. available in electronic form; readable and manipulable by computer: Scan these two pages so you'll have them as a digital document.

  4. pertaining to, noting, or making use of computers and computerized technologies, including the internet: We are living in an increasingly digital world.Digital activism uses social media to achieve political reform.His blog is a great example of digital journalism.Digital technology has revolutionized the music industry.

  5. of or relating to a digit or finger.

  6. resembling a digit or finger.

  7. manipulated with a finger or the fingertips: a digital switch.

  8. having fingers or digitlike parts.

noun
  1. one of the keys or finger levers of keyboard instruments.

Origin of digital

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin digitālis, equivalent to digit(us) (see digit) + -ālis-al1

Other words from digital

  • dig·it·al·ly, adverb
  • in·ter·dig·i·tal, adjective
  • in·ter·dig·i·tal·ly, adverb
  • post·dig·i·tal, adjective
  • pre·dig·i·tal, adjective

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

How to use digital in a sentence

  • Even the larger digitals would find this a tough nut to crack, but our baby is a whiz at curves, see?

    The Romantic Analogue | W.W. Skupeldyckle
  • One of the pre-digitals is very small, and is called the remicle (fig. 57, 11).

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for digital

digital

/ (ˈdɪdʒɪtəl) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, resembling, or possessing a digit or digits

  2. performed with the fingers

  1. representing data as a series of numerical values

  2. displaying information as numbers rather than by a pointer moving over a dial: a digital voltmeter; digital read-out

  3. electronics responding to discrete values of input voltage and producing discrete output voltage levels, as in a logic circuit: digital circuit

  4. a less common word for digitate

noun
  1. music one of the keys on the manuals of an organ or on a piano, harpsichord, etc

Derived forms of digital

  • digitally, adverb

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 digital

digital

[ dĭjĭ-tl ]


  1. Anatomy Relating to or resembling a digit, especially a finger.

  2. Computer Science Representing or operating on data or information in numerical form. A digital clock uses a series of changing digits to represent time at discrete intervals, for example, every second. Modern computers rely on digital processing techniques, in which both data and the instructions for manipulating data are represented as binary numbers. Compare analog. See also logic gate.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.