distributed system
compound.compound. a group of computers that work together to complete a task but appear to the user as a single computer. The computers are in different locations and talk to each other over a network.
compound. a collection of independent computers that appears to its users as a single coherent system. Components located on networked computers communicate and coordinate their actions by passing messages to achieve a common goal.
The website runs on a distributed system to handle millions of visitors.
Modern cloud computing relies on a distributed system to ensure that if one server fails, the others can continue the work.
Designing a distributed system requires careful management of data consistency and network latency, as individual nodes may fail or communicate at different speeds.
A compound term formed from the past participle of the Latin distribuere, meaning to divide or deal out, and the Late Latin systema, denoting an arrangement of parts.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Often used in technical or computer science contexts; typically takes a singular verb when referring to the system as a whole.
Last updated July 22, 2026