operating system

noun

Updated on: 14 May 2018

Definition of operating system

: software that controls the operation of a computer and directs the processing of programs (as by assigning storage space in memory and controlling input and output functions)

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Recent Examples of operating system from the Web

As with the Monroe Doctrine, Mr. Gates defended to the death his hemisphere—that is, basically anything that touched his Windows operating system.

— andy kessler, WSJ, "Columbus Discovers the Amazon," 6 May 2018
There was a time no company was better at rallying developers to write software for its underlying technologies — the Windows operating system, in Microsoft’s case.

— New York Times, "Nafta Talks Resume, and Disney Will Face Questions on Its Fox Plans," 6 May 2018
Oculus gives Facebook a chance to control everything, without being at the mercy of another company’s hardware or operating system.

— kurt wagner, Recode, "Oculus Go, the virtual reality headset Facebook hopes will bring VR to the mainstream, is finally here," 1 May 2018
Facebook pushed WhatsApp to change its terms of service to give the social network access to the phone numbers of WhatsApp users, along with analytics such as what devices and operating systems people were using.

— elizabeth dwoskin, chicagotribune.com, "WhatsApp founder plans to leave after clashes with parent Facebook over privacy and strategy," 30 Apr. 2018
The discs can only be used on a computer that already has a license for the Windows operating system, and the license transfers with the computer for its full life span.

— washington post, latimes.com, "Electronics-recycling innovator is going to prison for trying to extend computers' lives," 26 Apr. 2018
The disks can be used only on a computer that already has a license for the Windows operating system, and the license transfers with the computer for its full life span.

— tom jackman, Washington Post, "E-waste recycler Eric Lundgren loses appeal on computer restore disks, must serve 15-month prison term," 24 Apr. 2018
So now, carriers try to diversify among cloud providers, web hosts, software dependencies, and operating systems, Bailey said.

— josephine wolff, WIRED, "Cyberinsurance Tackles the Wildly Unpredictable World of Hacks," 6 Apr. 2018
Prosecutors said the 33-year-old ripped off Microsoft by manufacturing 28,000 counterfeit discs with the company’s Windows operating system on them.

— tom jackman, The Seattle Times, "‘E-waste’ recycling innovator faces prison after losing fight with Microsoft," 17 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'operating system.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of operating system

1961

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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