computed; computing
: to determine especially by mathematical means
Compute the area of the triangle.
1
: to make calculation : reckon
They compute by weight in selling grain.
2
: to use a computer
3
informal
: to make sense
No matter how you do the math, it will not work … . It simply does not compute.—
Chuck Finder
Chuck FinderExamples of compute in a Sentence
for the test we were required to compute the answers without using a calculator
Recent Examples on the Web
Even at the show itself, some onlookers had found Lantink’s first non-couture collection from the house for a decade or so too challenging for their sensibilities to compute.
—Luke Leitch, Vogue, 28 Oct. 2025
The new agreement lifts a key restriction on OpenAI’s ability to raise capital, a limitation dating back to its 2019 partnership with Microsoft, which granted the tech giant extensive rights over OpenAI’s work in exchange for the costly cloud computing power needed to support it.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025
Particularly, Tursa’s computing power was key to the rapid fine-tuning of the 650-million-parameter model.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
Managing this amount of data is extremely difficult and requires massive amounts of computing power, but the information is becoming more accurate every day as the number of sightings increase.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
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Luke Leitch, Vogue, 28 Oct. 2025
The new agreement lifts a key restriction on OpenAI’s ability to raise capital, a limitation dating back to its 2019 partnership with Microsoft, which granted the tech giant extensive rights over OpenAI’s work in exchange for the costly cloud computing power needed to support it.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025
Particularly, Tursa’s computing power was key to the rapid fine-tuning of the 650-million-parameter model.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
Managing this amount of data is extremely difficult and requires massive amounts of computing power, but the information is becoming more accurate every day as the number of sightings increase.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compute
Cite this Entry
“Compute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compute. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
compute
verb
com·pute
kəm-ˈpyüt 
computed; computing
1
: to determine or calculate especially by mathematical means
also
: to determine or calculate by means of a computer
2
informal
: to make sense
computable
adjective
-ˈpyüt-ə-bəl
Etymology
from Latin computare "to count, compute" — related to account, count entry 1
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