microcontroller

noun

mi·​cro·​con·​trol·​ler ˈmī-krō-kən-ˌtrō-lər How to pronounce microcontroller (audio)
plural microcontrollers
: an integrated circuit that contains a microprocessor along with memory and associated circuits and that controls some or all of the functions of an electronic device (such as a home appliance) or system

Examples of microcontroller in a Sentence

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Current Arduino boards, which use lighter processors called microcontrollers, aren’t powerful enough to do a lot of cutting-edge AI. Kif Leswing, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2025 The technology enables form factors and durability that quartz struggles to match, while opening the door to direct integration with SoCs and microcontrollers. Dave Altavilla, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 Onboard CPUs and GPUs, reinforcement learning (RL), physics engines, proprioception, computer vision with real-time object recognition, SLAM navigation, IMUs with gyros and accelerometers, tactile sensors, microcontrollers, servos, and batteries good for hours of runtime – the list goes on. Joe Salas august 30, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2025 Access to programmable hardware was limited, with no access to microcontrollers or hardware manufacturing. IEEE Spectrum, 20 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for microcontroller

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of microcontroller was in 1971

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Cite this Entry

“Microcontroller.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microcontroller. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

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