hardware

noun

hard·​ware ˈhärd-ˌwer 

1

: ware (such as fittings, cutlery, tools, utensils, or parts of machines) made of metal

2

: major items of equipment or their components used for a particular purpose

educational hardware

: such as

a

: military equipment

b

: the physical components (such as electronic and electrical devices) of a vehicle (such as a spacecraft) or an apparatus (such as a computer)

3

: an award (such as a trophy, medal, or cup) given in a sports competition

Synonyms of hardware

• equipment
• gear
• apparatus

Examples of hardware in a Sentence

She bought some new hardware for her system.

gathered together the hardware needed to set up a first aid station at the finish line for the marathon

Recent Examples on the Web

Their goal is to integrate them into advanced hardware and explore their potential to power the next generation of computing devices. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 18 Dec. 2025

That seemed to be the spirit throughout Boulder Wednesday as crowds filled the hardware stores and waited for the winds to die down. —Sarah Horbacewicz, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025

Second, cloud streaming technology improved to the point that people no longer need to download a full game to play it, thus reducing the quality of hardware required to play online with low latency. —Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 18 Dec. 2025

The hardware on board is all top-spec, as expected. —New Atlas, 18 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing hardware

• hardware cloth

Rhymes for hardware

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare
• compare

Kids Definition

hardware

noun

hard·​ware ˈhär-ˌdwa(ə)r 

-ˌdwe(ə)r

1

: articles (as fittings, cutlery, tools, utensils, or parts of machines) made of metal

2

: the equipment used for a particular purpose

computer hardware

military hardware