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Meaning & use

data entry

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈdeɪtə ˌentri/
US/ˈdeɪtə ˌentri/

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    the job or process of putting information into a computer system by typing it in

    Grammar: No plural and no article: do data entry, not do a data entry.

    Patterns

    • do data entry
    • data entry job
    • data entry work
    • data entry clerk

    She spends most of her day doing data entry for the sales team.

    The company hired two people to handle data entry during the busy season.

    He found a part-time data entry job that he could do from home.

  2. nouncountable

    one single item or record that has been entered into a computer system

    Grammar: Countable here: you can say a data entry or two data entries.

    Patterns

    • a data entry
    • make a data entry
    • check the data entries

    The software flagged a data entry that seemed too high for that month.

    Please review each data entry before you save the file.

Common combinations

data entry clerk
The data entry clerk typed the customer details into the system.
data entry work
She does data entry work for a small accounting firm.
data entry error
A simple data entry error caused the wrong address to be printed.
do data entry
I need to do some data entry before the meeting.
data entry form
Fill in the data entry form online and click submit.

Synonyms and how they differ

input
Input is the act of putting data in, often used for the technical process rather than the job; data entry usually refers to the daily work of typing information.
keyboarding
Keyboarding focuses on the physical skill of typing, while data entry focuses on the task of entering information into a system.

Word family

data noun
Facts or information used for analysis; the material that is entered.
entry noun
A single item recorded in a list or system; also the act of recording it.
enter verb
To type information into a computer or write it in a form.

Commonly confused: data entry or data input?

data entry vs data input

Data input often refers to the technical process or the point where data goes into a system, while data entry usually means the human job of typing information.

Practice

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