microcontroller

noun

mi·​cro·​con·​trol·​ler ˈmī-krō-kən-ˌtrō-lər 

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The soft electronic patch, glued onto a cloth armband, integrates motion sensors, muscle sensors, a Bluetooth microcontroller, and a stretchable battery into a thin, multilayered package. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Nov. 2025

Arduino Introducing the Arduino Uno Q Board Past Arduino Uno boards had inexpensive microcontrollers that could execute code but lacked support for a full desktop operating system. —IEEE Spectrum, 18 Oct. 2025

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

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for microcontroller

• arteriolar
• ambipolar
• areolar
• bronchiolar
• circumpolar
• equimolar
• monopolar
• multipolar
• nucleolar
• unipolar
• vacuolar
• bipolar