database

noun

da·​ta·​base ˈdā-tə-ˌbās 

ˈda-

also ˈdä-

computers

: a usually large collection of data organized especially for rapid search and retrieval (as by a computer)

an online database

database transitive verb

Examples of database in a Sentence

All of our customers' information was kept in a database.

Recent Examples on the Web

In January, a DNA profile was successfully developed and uploaded to a direct-to-consumer ancestry database while a genealogist assigned to the Riverside Cold Case Homicide Team was able to positively identify a potential match to a close relative in Alabama. —Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026

New York For All would ensure that state and local resources are not used to carry out federal immigration enforcement, close loopholes that allow ICE to glean information from state databases and establish lasting protections for immigrant communities. —Peter Cook, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026

But critics say the United States is an outlier in the developed world in its lack of IVF regulations, and no reliable databases track errors at IVF clinics across the country. —Elizabeth Chuck, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026

The city manager in Raleigh, the capital and second-largest city in the state, made $323,978, according to the Raleigh News & Observer’s slightly older salary database, which is from 2024. —Charlotte Observer, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1962, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for database

• aerospace
• anatase
• anyplace
• commonplace
• cyberspace
• diabase
• diastase
• dnase
• elastase
• fireplace
• hyperspace
• interface

Kids Definition

database

noun

da·​ta·​base ˈdāt-ə-ˌbās 

ˈdat-

also ˈdät-

: a collection of data that is organized especially to be used by a computer