programming language
noun
plural programming languages
: any of various languages (see language sense 1c) used to create computer programs
Programming languages are the foundation of software development, allowing developers to create applications, websites, and systems through computer-understandable instructions.—
geeksforgeeks.org
geeksforgeeks.orgMost software engineers do far more than churn out code, designing products, choosing programming languages, troubleshooting problems and gathering feedback from users.—Steve Lohr
Steve LohrMaintaining the system is getting harder because it relies on a computer programming language (COBOL) that fewer and fewer programmers know.—David Zubler
compare assembly language, machine language, natural language sense 2
David ZublerExamples of programming language in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The courses within the Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle are taught by Joseph Delgadillo, who teaches you different programming languages in a few hours, like C++, Python, and Java.
—New Atlas, 14 May 2026
Common programming languages such as Python or Rust, which contain roughly understandable plaintext commands for arithmetic operations, didn’t exist back then.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 12 May 2026
Ruby, general-purpose and fully object-oriented computer programming language known for its programmer-friendly design and supportive community.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
Hard and soft skills At a minimum, cybersecurity professionals should have a general understanding of IT including operating systems, communication protocols, network architecture, and programming languages such as C++, Java, and Python.
—IEEE Spectrum, 6 May 2026
The first version of the programming language Java was released.
—USA Today, 6 May 2026
In 1964, the computer programming language BASIC (Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was first run by its inventors, Dartmouth College professors John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz.
—Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026
The stock dropped 13% in a single day in February after artificial intelligence model builder Anthropic said AI could assist companies with modernizing code written in the COBOL programming language.
—Jordan Novet, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2026
An agent can run an entire analytical pipeline in three programming languages simultaneously and flag where the results diverge.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2026
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New Atlas, 14 May 2026
Common programming languages such as Python or Rust, which contain roughly understandable plaintext commands for arithmetic operations, didn’t exist back then.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 12 May 2026
Ruby, general-purpose and fully object-oriented computer programming language known for its programmer-friendly design and supportive community.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
Hard and soft skills At a minimum, cybersecurity professionals should have a general understanding of IT including operating systems, communication protocols, network architecture, and programming languages such as C++, Java, and Python.
—IEEE Spectrum, 6 May 2026
The first version of the programming language Java was released.
—USA Today, 6 May 2026
In 1964, the computer programming language BASIC (Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was first run by its inventors, Dartmouth College professors John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz.
—Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026
The stock dropped 13% in a single day in February after artificial intelligence model builder Anthropic said AI could assist companies with modernizing code written in the COBOL programming language.
—Jordan Novet, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2026
An agent can run an entire analytical pipeline in three programming languages simultaneously and flag where the results diverge.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Programming language.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/programming%20language. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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