Meaning & use
compute
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To calculate a number, result, or value using mathematics or a machine.
Grammar: Takes an object: compute the total. More formal than work out or calculate.
Patterns
- compute the total
- compute something from data
- compute how much
The software can compute your tax in a few seconds.
Scientists computed the distance from the satellite's orbital data.
verbintransitiveinformal
To make sense or be understandable, usually in the negative phrase it doesn't compute.
Grammar: No object; almost always used with a negative: the figures just don't compute.
Patterns
- it doesn't compute
- the numbers don't compute
He gave three different excuses, and none of them compute.
The story she told us simply doesn't compute with the evidence.
Word forms
| third person singular | computes |
|---|---|
| past tense | computed |
| past participle | computed |
| -ing form | computing |
Common combinations
- compute the total
- The cashier computed the total faster than the register.
- compute from raw data
- The model computes average temperatures from raw data collected daily.
- it doesn't compute
- A pay cut for the best worker? It just doesn't compute.
Synonyms and how they differ
- calculate
- Calculate is the everyday neutral word; compute sounds more technical or machine-based.
- work out
- Work out is informal and used for everyday problems; compute suits formal or data-heavy contexts.
- figure out
- Figure out means to understand or solve, while compute specifically means to calculate a value.
Opposites
Word family
- computer noun
- A machine that computes; now the general word for the device.
- computation noun
- The process of computing; a calculation.
- computable adjective
- Able to be calculated, especially by an algorithm.
- computing noun
- The activity or field of using computers.
Commonly confused: compute or commute?
compute vs commute
Commute means to travel regularly between home and work, or to reduce a punishment; compute means to calculate.
Practice
The program can ______ your income tax in seconds.
Choose one answer.
Compute means to calculate a value, which fits tax calculation. Commute means to travel to work, and conceal means to hide, so they do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “compute”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.