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

Despite concerns about the accuracy of the records in the new system, Sooknanan said, the administration shared the database with states, which used it on their rolls. —Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 23 June 2026

But unlike the United States, the public can’t access this database. —Hanako Montgomery, CNN Money, 22 June 2026

If a lender in Maryland needs a car repossessed in Seattle and doesn’t know any agents there, a forwarder with a national repo database may manage the job, from assignment to resolution. —Paige Williams, New Yorker, 22 June 2026

Part museum, part database, the Archives contains everything from a 1978 memo about the first photograph of Microsoft employees, to early Xbox consoles, to costumes from the Halo TV series. —Entertainment Weekly, 22 June 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