hardware

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noun

metalware, as tools, locks, hinges, or cutlery.

the mechanical equipment necessary for conducting an activity, usually distinguished from the theory and design that make the activity possible.

military weapons and combat equipment.

Slang. a weapon carried on one's person: The rougher types were asked to check their hardware at the door.

Computers. the mechanical, magnetic, electronic, and electrical devices comprising a computer system, as the CPU, disk drives, keyboard, or screen.

Relevant Questions

What Is Hardware?

What Is Computer Hardwar...

What Is Hardware And Sof...

What Is The Definition O...

Compare software.

Origin:
1505–15; 1955–60 for def 5; hard + ware¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To hardware

00:10

Hardware is always a great word to know.

So is callithumpian. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Collins

World English Dictionary

hardware (ˈhɑːdˌwɛə)

—n
1.	metal tools, implements, etc, esp cutlery or cooking utensils
2.	computing Compare software the physical equipment used in a computer system, such as the central processing unit, peripheral devices, and memory
3.	mechanical equipment, components, etc
4.	heavy military equipment, such as tanks and missiles or their parts
5.	informal a gun or guns collectively

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

hardware

1515, from hard + ware (n.). In the sense of "physical components of a computer" it dates from 1947.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

hardware

(härd'wâr') Pronunciation Key
A computer, its components, and its related equipment. Hardware includes disk drives, integrated circuits, display screens, cables, modems, speakers, and printers. Compare software.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

hardware definition

The physical machinery and devices that make up a computer system. It is contrasted to software — the programs and instructions used to run the system.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary

hardware definition

n.
whiskey; potent liquor. : This hardware is enough to knock your socks off.
n.
hard drugs or hard liquor. : No wine for me. Give me the hardware.
n.
a weapon; a gun. (Underworld and Western.) : I think I see your hardware showing.
n.
computer parts, as opposed to computer programs. : The software is okay, so it must be the hardware that's off.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

hardware definition

hardware
The physical, touchable, material parts of a computer or other system. The term is used to distinguish these fixed parts of a system from the more changable software or data components which it executes, stores, or carries.
Computer hardware typically consists chiefly of electronic devices (CPU, memory, display) with some electromechanical parts (keyboard, printer, disk drives, tape drives, loudspeakers) for input, output, and storage, though completely non-electronic (mechanical, electromechanical, hydraulic, biological) computers have also been conceived of and built.
See also firmware, wetware.
(1997-01-23)