mainframe

noun

main·​frame ˈmān-ˌfrām 

1

: a large, powerful computer that can handle many tasks concurrently and is usually used commercially

… the million-dollar mainframe computers that took up entire floors of corporate premises …

—John Derbyshire

2

dated : a computer with its cabinet and internal circuits especially when considered separately from any peripherals connected to the computer

Examples of mainframe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By the end of this year, FedEx will close all of the company’s data centers and retire all of the company’s mainframe computers to save $400 million in annual savings. —John Kell, Fortune, 22 May 2024

At a time when computer companies like IBM were selling multimillion-dollar mainframe computers, Digital Equipment Corporation, which was founded and run by Kenneth Olsen, aimed at introducing smaller, powerful machines that could be purchased for a fraction of that cost. —Glenn Rifkin, New York Times, 21 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1957, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

mainframe

noun

main·​frame ˈmān-ˌfrām 

: a large fast computer that can do many jobs at once