Meaning & use
database
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Meanings
nouncountable
An organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically, typically on a computer system.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a database or several databases.
Patterns
- a database of something
- store something in a database
- search a database
The library has a database of all its books.
We entered the customer details into the database.
You can search the database by name or date.
nouncountablecomputing
The software system that manages and provides access to such a collection of data.
Grammar: Often used to refer to the software itself, not just the data.
Patterns
- install a database
- a database system
- connect to a database
The company uses a powerful database to handle millions of transactions.
He is learning how to design a database.
The database crashed and we lost some data.
Word forms
| plural | databases |
|---|
Common combinations
- database management
- She studied database management at university.
- online database
- The online database is updated daily.
- database of
- They built a database of customer complaints.
- search a database
- You can search the database for specific keywords.
Synonyms and how they differ
- databank
- Similar, but often implies a large collection of data for reference, not necessarily a software system.
- repository
- A more formal word for a place where things are stored, sometimes used for data.
Word family
- data noun
- The facts or information stored in a database.
Commonly confused: database or data set?
database vs data set
A data set is one specific collection of related data; a database is the system that stores and organizes one or more data sets.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'database' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A database is a computer system for storing data, so 'stores all employee records' fits. The other options use 'database' as a physical object, which is incorrect.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “database”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.