computed; computing
: to determine especially by mathematical means
Compute the area of the triangle.
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
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
By Molly Schuetz | Bloomberg Nvidia Corp. has agreed to acquire Israeli startup Run:ai, which develops software for handling artificial intelligence computing resources.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2024
The Facebook parent is plowing ever more resources into artificial intelligence, which requires significant investments in computing power, while locked in an arms race with rivals from Alphabet Inc. to Microsoft Corp. for supremacy in this fast-developing technology.
—Kurt Wagner, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2024
Improve your office setup and computing abilities with this near-mint condition Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Mini Desktop, now just $189.99 for a limited time.
—Stackcommerce Team, PCMAG, 15 Apr. 2024
Phiala Shanahan, a nuclear and particle physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, leads a team that computes the behavior of quarks and gluons starting from the equations of the strong force.
—Charlie Wood, WIRED, 14 Apr. 2024
The 2023 Turing Award—the computing world’s Nobel Prize equivalent—has been given to mathematician Avi Wigderson for his groundbreaking and widely applicable contributions to computer science.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Apr. 2024
On the upside, there’s the state’s information businesses – that’s all the computing know-how plus the creative types who make entertainment magic.
—Jonathan Lansner, Orange County Register, 11 Apr. 2024
As the technology develops, companies are rushing to integrate it into apps and online searches, ramping up computing power requirements.
—Laura Paddison, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024
And Huang said that Nvidia’s computing platform Omniverse now streams to Apple’s Vision Pro headset, and that Chinese EV-maker BYD is adopting Nvidia’s next generation computer Thor.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024
Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2024
The Facebook parent is plowing ever more resources into artificial intelligence, which requires significant investments in computing power, while locked in an arms race with rivals from Alphabet Inc. to Microsoft Corp. for supremacy in this fast-developing technology.
—Kurt Wagner, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2024
Improve your office setup and computing abilities with this near-mint condition Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Mini Desktop, now just $189.99 for a limited time.
—Stackcommerce Team, PCMAG, 15 Apr. 2024
Phiala Shanahan, a nuclear and particle physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, leads a team that computes the behavior of quarks and gluons starting from the equations of the strong force.
—Charlie Wood, WIRED, 14 Apr. 2024
The 2023 Turing Award—the computing world’s Nobel Prize equivalent—has been given to mathematician Avi Wigderson for his groundbreaking and widely applicable contributions to computer science.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Apr. 2024
On the upside, there’s the state’s information businesses – that’s all the computing know-how plus the creative types who make entertainment magic.
—Jonathan Lansner, Orange County Register, 11 Apr. 2024
As the technology develops, companies are rushing to integrate it into apps and online searches, ramping up computing power requirements.
—Laura Paddison, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024
And Huang said that Nvidia’s computing platform Omniverse now streams to Apple’s Vision Pro headset, and that Chinese EV-maker BYD is adopting Nvidia’s next generation computer Thor.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 18 Mar. 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.
Articles Related to compute
Dictionary Entries Near compute
Cite this Entry
“Compute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compute. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
compute
verb
com·pute
kəm-ˈpyüt 
computed; computing
: to determine or calculate especially by mathematical means
also
: to determine or calculate by means of a computer
computable
adjective
-ˈpyüt-ə-bəl
Etymology
from Latin computare "to count, compute" — related to account, count entry 1
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share