mainframe

[ meyn-freym ]
See synonyms for mainframe on Thesaurus.com
nounComputers.
  1. a large computer, often the hub of a system serving many users.

Origin of mainframe

1
First recorded in 1960–65; main1 + frame

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

How to use mainframe in a sentence

  • Some people might have looked at the first personal computers as a scaled- down version of the mainframes of the time.

British Dictionary definitions for mainframe

mainframe

/ (ˈmeɪnˌfreɪm) /


noun
    • a high-speed general-purpose computer, usually with a large storage capacity

    • (as modifier): mainframe systems

  1. the central processing unit of a computer

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 mainframe

mainframe

[ mānfrām′ ]


  1. A large, often powerful computer, usually dedicated to lengthy, complex calculations or set up for use by many people simultaneously. Compare personal computer.

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

Cultural definitions for mainframe

mainframe

A large, powerful computer system. A mainframe computer typically carries out complex calculations and is shared by many users. (Compare personal computer.)

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.