compute

verb com·pute \ kəm-ˈpyüt \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of compute

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

See compute defined for English-language learners

See compute defined for kids

Examples of compute in a Sentence

for the test we were required to compute the answers without using a calculator

Recent Examples of compute from the Web

In 2014, Amazon benefited from another Obama-era computing initiative: 18F, a consultancy made up of former Silicon Valley developers, which guides government agencies on software and computing procurement.

— brody mullins, WSJ, "As Trump Bashes Amazon, the Government Relies on It," 5 Apr. 2018
And one of the notable ideas that emerged was of universal constructors—that would somehow be able to construct anything, just as universal computers could compute anything.

— stephen wolfram, WIRED, "2001: A Space Odyssey Predicted The Future—50 Years Ago," 3 Apr. 2018
The changes reflect the shrinking role of Windows, the operating system that runs most of the world's PCs, as computing shifts toward areas like cloud, mobile, productivity and artificial intelligence software.

— bloomberg, latimes.com, "Microsoft shuffles the corporate deck as it grapples with a world where the PC does not dominate," 29 Mar. 2018
Only 3 percent of computing jobs in the United States were done by African-American women in 2016, despite accounting for about 7 percent of the population, government data shows.

— lee mannion, The Christian Science Monitor, "Black Girls Code seeks to build diversity in tech," 28 Mar. 2018
Unfortunately, business card-sized disks were too big for the emerging mobile computing market, and the company dissolved almost exactly a year after the tech debuted.

— adi robertson, The Verge, "This week in tech, 20 years ago," 24 Mar. 2018
As the communications and computing revolution has gained momentum since the 1990s, a central story of the American economy has been the increasing concentration of opportunity into the largest cities and inner suburbs.

— ronald brownstein, CNN, "Small-town America has gotten an economic jolt under Trump," 20 Mar. 2018
Koopmans said of the ties between Amazon’s video gaming business and its cloud computing unit.

— jonathan vanian, Fortune, "Amazon Has a New Strategy to Win Over Video Game Developers," 19 Mar. 2018
But by mid-2016, the company had lost about 60 percent of its value amid competition from larger-scale cloud-computing services.

— patrick danner, San Antonio Express-News, "Report: Rackspace may be going public again," 27 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'compute.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of compute

Latin computare — more at count

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1579

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

compute Synonyms

Synonyms

calculate, cipher, figure, reckon, work out;

add, divide, multiply, subtract;

allow (for), deduct, factor (in or into or out), figure in;

figure out, solve (for);

count, itemize, number;

calibrate, gauge (also gage), measure, scale;

appraise, assess, estimate, evaluate, rate, value;

recalculate, recompute, refigure;

COMPUTE Defined for English Language Learners

compute

verb

Definition of compute for English Language Learners

: to find out (something) by using mathematical processes

COMPUTE Defined for Kids

compute

verb com·pute \ kəm-ˈpyüt \

Definition of compute for Students

computed; computing

: to find out by using mathematics

compute a total

Word Root of compute

The Latin word putāre, meaning “to think,” gives us the root put. Words from the Latin putāre have something to do with thinking. A reputation is what other people think about something or someone. To compute is to use math to think about a bunch of numbers together in order to answer a problem. To dispute is to argue because two or more people think different things.