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 FinderExamples of compute in a Sentence
for the test we were required to compute the answers without using a calculator
Recent Examples on the Web
Quantum computing was once considered a distant scientific project that could revolutionize computing.
—Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Putting satellites packed with computing equipment in space could become less impractical with the adoption of chips that feature superconducting logic, rather than traditional semiconductors, said Peter Barrett, a general partner at venture firm Playground Global.
—Ashley Capoot,cj Haddad,samantha Subin,lora Kolodny, CNBC, 12 June 2026
Rather than doing everything in the cloud, Apple is focusing on combining the computing resources on your iPhones, Macs, and other devices along with what Apple calls Private Cloud Compute—essentially Apple’s own version of the cloud.
—Bob O'Donnell, USA Today, 12 June 2026
This approach to text generation shifts the bottleneck from memory bandwidth to compute, generating up to 256 tokens in parallel.
—ArsTechnica, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for compute
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Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Putting satellites packed with computing equipment in space could become less impractical with the adoption of chips that feature superconducting logic, rather than traditional semiconductors, said Peter Barrett, a general partner at venture firm Playground Global.
—Ashley Capoot,cj Haddad,samantha Subin,lora Kolodny, CNBC, 12 June 2026
Rather than doing everything in the cloud, Apple is focusing on combining the computing resources on your iPhones, Macs, and other devices along with what Apple calls Private Cloud Compute—essentially Apple’s own version of the cloud.
—Bob O'Donnell, USA Today, 12 June 2026
This approach to text generation shifts the bottleneck from memory bandwidth to compute, generating up to 256 tokens in parallel.
—ArsTechnica, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for compute
Cite this Entry
“Compute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compute. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
compute
verb
com·pute
kəm-ˈpyüt 
computed; computing
1
: to determine or calculate especially by mathematical means
also
: to determine or calculate by means of a computer
2
informal
: to make sense
computable
adjective
-ˈpyüt-ə-bəl
Etymology
from Latin computare "to count, compute" — related to account, count entry 1
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