software

noun

soft·​ware ˈsȯft-ˌwer 

: something used or associated with and usually contrasted with hardware: such as

a

: programs for a computer

accounting software

b

dated : the entire set of programs, procedures, and related documentation associated with a mechanical or electronic system and especially a computer system

c

: materials for use with audiovisual equipment

… television programs, music, and movies are now called software, by the way …

—Robert Bixby

Examples of software in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The reason CrowdStrike shares are down 16% this year, alongside many other enterprise software companies, is that some investors believe that large language models (LLMs), with their rapidly improving capabilities, will one day displace even the best traditional cybersecurity vendors. —Jeff Marks, CNBC, 4 Mar. 2026

The authors were very careful to not just make this case based on statistical arguments, but to actually inject a mock ultra-diffuse galaxy into the data itself, and see if their software could pull it out. —Big Think, 3 Mar. 2026

This article was generated by the Bay Area Home Report Bot, software that analyzes home sales or other data and creates an article based on a template created by humans. —Bay Area Home Report, Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2026

Kendrick, 82, made his fortune in software and banking, founding the company that would eventually become Ellucian and investing in Woodforest National Bank. —Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 3 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for software

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare
• compare

Kids Definition

software

noun

soft·​ware ˈsȯf-ˌtwa(ə)r 

-ˌtwe(ə)r

: the programs and related information used by a computer