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

In the sprawling space, employees work on assembling and testing hardware, including container-sized batteries and their autonomous controllers. —Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026

There’s also plenty of more conventional hardware, like lights and front fork shocks. —ArsTechnica, 16 Apr. 2026

Meta laid off a chunk of its hardware division responsible for headsets and discontinued a key metaverse product called Horizon Worlds for people to meet up virtually. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026

By embedding these quantum-resistant mechanisms into the hardware and system levels, the project aims to create a more resilient foundation for critical technology. —Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 15 Apr. 2026

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