compute

verb

com·​pute kəm-ˈpyüt 

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

Synonyms of compute

• calculate
• figure

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

Rather than consolidating computing power into one large data center, Sunrun’s program would spread it out in smaller compute units dotted all over the country. — Stevie Bonifield, The Verge, 10 July 2026

The broader rule also gives the UAE government, Abu Dhabi AI conglomerate G42 and its cloud subsidiary Core42 access to license exceptions for certain advanced-computing equipment. — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 10 July 2026

This dramatically lowers the cost of deployment and increases operational flexibility, and shift the bottleneck of physical systems such as robotics from hardware engineering to compute scaling. — Anjana Susarla, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026

The move comes as Meta simultaneously plans a new cloud computing business to sell excess capacity, even as investors remain skeptical of its roughly $145 billion capex forecast and the company's lag behind AI leaders OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 9 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin computare — more at count

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Phrases Containing compute

• pre-compute

Rhymes for compute

• acute
• aleut
• astute
• beetroot
• breadfruit
• cheroot
• commute
• confute
• dilute
• dispute
• elute
• grapefruit

Kids 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

-ˈpyüt-ə-bəl

adjective

Etymology

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