Word Noun
parser
n.
C1 Advanced US /ˈpɑɹsɝ/ UK /pˈɑːsɐ/ pars·er UK spelling parsers
Definition
n.a computer program or part of a system that breaks down code or text into smaller pieces to understand its structure.
n.a software component or algorithm that analyses a string of symbols or tokens to determine its grammatical structure with respect to a given formal grammar.
Examples
“The parser found a syntax error in the first line of code.”
“When you enter a command, the parser breaks it down to see if the computer can execute the request.”
“A robust XML parser must be able to handle nested tags and character encoding issues without crashing the entire application.”
Usage
Commonly used in the context of computer science, linguistics, and data processing.
Etymology
From parse + -er.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated