Meaning & use
digital
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Using electronic technology that stores and handles information as numbers, usually ones and zeros.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: a digital camera, digital files.
Patterns
- digital device
- digital technology
She took the photo with a digital camera.
The museum has turned old letters into digital files.
Digital technology has changed how people listen to music.
adjectivebefore a noun
Showing information as numbers rather than with moving hands or a dial.
Grammar: Used for instruments: a digital clock, a digital display.
Patterns
- digital clock
- digital display
The oven has a digital display showing the temperature.
My grandfather prefers a digital watch to an analog one.
A digital scale told her the exact weight.
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to computers, the internet and online activity in general.
Grammar: Often modifies abstract nouns: digital skills, digital life.
Patterns
- digital skills
- digital world
Schools now teach digital skills from an early age.
The company is moving its sales into the digital world.
Her digital footprint includes years of posts.
Common combinations
- digital camera
- He bought a small digital camera for the trip.
- digital age
- Privacy is a big concern in the digital age.
- digital media
- She works in digital media and advertising.
- digital literacy
- Digital literacy helps older adults use banking apps.
- go digital
- The newspaper decided to go digital last year.
Synonyms and how they differ
- electronic
- Electronic covers any device using electric circuits, while digital specifically means information stored as numbers.
- online
- Online means connected to the internet, whereas digital items, like a calculator, may never go online.
- computerized
- Computerized means run or processed by a computer, while digital describes the form of the information.
- virtual
- Virtual describes something that exists only on screen or in simulation, while digital describes how data is represented.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: digital or analog? digital or digit?
digital vs analog
Analog shows information with continuous signals or moving parts, the opposite of digital.
digital vs digit
A digit is a single number or finger, while digital is the adjective about technology.
Practice
Which item is typically described as analog rather than digital?
Choose one answer.
A clock with moving hands shows time continuously, so it is analog. The other items store or display information as numbers.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “digital”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.