Word
SQL
Phoneticssql
/ˈsikwʊɫ/
Definitions
01database language
n. Stands for Structured Query Language. You use it to ask a database for information or to change the data stored there.
n. Abbreviation for Structured Query Language. A standard interactive and programming language for getting information from and updating a database.
“The job requires you to know SQL so you can manage the customer database.”
“The developer optimized the SQL query to reduce the time it took for the server to retrieve records from the massive relational database.”
Technical
Usage
Often pronounced as 'sequel' or by its individual letters S-Q-L.
Teaching tip
While technically an initialism, many professionals pronounce it as a single word ('sequel'). Both versions are acceptable in professional environments.
02physics limit
n. Stands for standard quantum limit. It is a limit in physics on how accurately you can measure certain things.
n. Abbreviation for standard quantum limit. The limit on the precision of continuous measurement of a quantum mechanical system.
“The scientists tried to build a sensor that could measure beyond the SQL.”
“Advanced gravitational wave detectors must account for the SQL to achieve the sensitivity required for observing distant cosmic events.”
Technical
Usage
Used as an uncountable noun in theoretical and experimental physics contexts.
Teaching tip
This sense is extremely specialized; unless you are teaching students in advanced physics, they will almost always encounter the database meaning.
Domains
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/sql