compute

verb

com·​pute kəm-ˈpyüt How to pronounce compute (audio)
computed; computing

transitive verb

: to determine especially by mathematical means
Compute the area of the triangle.
also : to determine or calculate by means of a computer
computing pi to over one billion places

intransitive verb

1
: to make calculation : reckon
They compute by weight in selling grain.
2
: to use a computer
3
informal : to make sense
No matter how you do the math, it will not work … . It simply does not compute.Chuck Finder

Examples of compute in a Sentence

for the test we were required to compute the answers without using a calculator
Recent Examples on the Web Inside a computing college, there may be fewer critics around who can slow down bad ideas. Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2024 Other duties include utilizing computing resources in researching and leveraging appropriate data management solutions. Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Mar. 2024 Tuesday night, OpenAI published several of Musk’s emails from the early days of the company that appear to show Musk acknowledging OpenAI needed to make a ton of money to fund the incredible computing resources needed to power its AI ambitions. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2024 Microsoft, a key investor in OpenAI, will provide engineering teams along with computing resources. Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 That’s why bitcoin’s proof of work was designed to rely on cryptographic proof, which mathematically cannot be circumvented without trillions more hours of computing power than anyone could muster. Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 The bowl cupped a spherical cloud of iron that acted as a radiator for the waste heat emitted by Paradise’s quadrillions of computing modules. Karl Schroeder, IEEE Spectrum, 24 Feb. 2024 Queries with LLaMA fire between seven and 65 billion parameters, requiring much less computing power and, therefore, computing costs. Justin Davis, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 The type of computing GPUs handle is thus more efficient and more valuable than CPUs. Rob Wile, NBC News, 24 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'compute.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin computare — more at count

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of compute was in 1579

Dictionary Entries Near compute

Cite this Entry

“Compute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compute. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

compute

verb
com·​pute kəm-ˈpyüt How to pronounce compute (audio)
computed; computing
: to determine or calculate especially by mathematical means
also : to determine or calculate by means of a computer
computable
-ˈpyüt-ə-bəl
adjective
Etymology

from Latin computare "to count, compute" — related to account, count entry 1

More from Merriam-Webster on compute

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