hash table
compound.compound. a way of storing information in a computer so you can find it very quickly. It uses a special code to map a piece of data to a specific spot in a list.
compound. a data structure that implements an associative array, mapping keys to values via a mathematical function. It provides efficient data retrieval by calculating an index into an array of buckets or slots.
The programmer used a hash table to store the user data.
By implementing a hash table, the software can look up a customer's record in constant time regardless of how many millions of entries exist.
Efficient hash table implementations must account for potential collisions, where two distinct keys generate the same index, typically resolving them through techniques like chaining or open addressing.
Derived from the verb hash, meaning to chop into small pieces, combined with table. The term reflects the process of fragmenting input data into a numerical index for storage in a structured grid.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Commonly used in computer science and software engineering contexts.
Last updated July 22, 2026