algorithm
n. countablen. a set of rules or steps a computer follows to solve a problem or complete a task. You often hear it used to describe the hidden code that decides which videos or posts show up on your social media feed.
n. a finite sequence of rigorous instructions used to solve a class of specific problems or perform a computation. In contemporary usage, it frequently refers to the proprietary recommendation systems employed by digital platforms.
The app uses an algorithm to suggest new songs you might like.
To sort the massive database quickly, the engineering team wrote a new algorithm that processes the information in half the time.
While early algorithms were simple step-by-step instructions for basic calculations, modern machine learning models develop their own complex pathways to predict user behaviour with unsettling accuracy.
Etymology tree Arabic ال (al-) Old Persian 𐎢𐎺𐎠𐎼𐏀𐎷𐎡𐏁 (u-v-a-r-z-mi-i-š) Classical Persian خْوَارَزْم (xwārazm)bor. Arabic خَوَارِزْم (ḵawārizm) Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy) Arabic خَوَارِزْمِيّ (ḵawārizmiyy) Arabic الخَوَارِزْمِيّ (al-ḵawārizmiyy)bor. Medieval Latin algorismusbor. Anglo-Norman algorismebor. Middle English algorisme English algorism ▲ English arithmo-influ. English algorithm From Middle English algorisme, augrym, from Anglo-Norman algorisme, augrim, from Medieval Latin algorismus, from Arabic الخَوَارِزْمِيّ (al-ḵawārizmiyy), the nisba of Persian mathematician Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī and a toponymic name meaning "person from Chorasmia". The spelling change (-s- > -th-) was influenced by unrelated Ancient Greek ἀριθμός (arithmós) (whence English arithmo-).
Frequently used with the definite article ('the algorithm') when referring to the opaque recommendation systems of social media platforms.