ENGLISH
REFERENCE

computation

n. C / U
C1 Advanced US //ˌkɑmpjəˈteɪʃən// UK //kˌɒmpjuːtˈeɪʃən// com·pu·ta·tion

n. the act of calculating something using numbers or a computer. It is the process of following a set of rules to find an answer.

n. the process of mathematical calculation or the systematic use of algorithms to process data. Often refers to the operation of a computer or the logical steps taken to solve a problem.


SIMPLE

The complex computation took several hours to complete.

CONTEXTUAL

Modern weather forecasting requires massive amounts of computation to simulate atmospheric changes accurately.

COMPLEX

While the theoretical framework was sound, the actual computation of the results proved difficult due to the sheer volume of variables involved in the simulation.

Synonyms
Origin

From late Middle English computacioun, from Middle French computation, from Latin computatiō, from computare (“sum up, reckon, compute”); see compute. Morphologically compute + -ation.

Usage

Uncountable when referring to the general process; countable when referring to a specific instance or calculation.

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