Definition of data
1 : factual information (such as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation
the data is plentiful and easily available— H. A. Gleason, Jr. comprehensive data on economic growth have been published— N. H. Jacoby
2 : information in digital form that can be transmitted or processed
3 : information output by a sensing device or organ that includes both useful and irrelevant or redundant information and must be processed to be meaningful
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Test Your Vocabulary
More Confusing Words—Quiz

- The magician
______moved the selected card to the top of the deck.

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games


















Share data
Time Traveler for data
The first known use of data was in 1646
See more words from the same year