# dynamic typing

CEFR C1 · Compound

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/dynamic-typing
Updated: 2026-07-22

## Definition

a way of writing computer code where you do not have to name the type of data a variable holds. The computer figures out if something is a number or text while the program is running.

For teachers: a feature of programming languages where variable types are determined at runtime rather than during compilation. This allows a single variable to hold different data types at different points in the program's execution.

## Examples

- Python uses dynamic typing to make writing code faster.
- Because the language uses dynamic typing, the developer could assign a string to a variable that previously held an integer without causing a crash.
- While dynamic typing offers significant flexibility and rapid prototyping capabilities, it can introduce subtle runtime errors that a static type system would have caught during the compilation phase.

## Usage notes

- Commonly contrasted with 'static typing' in computer science contexts.

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