processing

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   The steps taken to handle, change, or deal with something, such as materials, forms, or information.

   Grammar: No plural: the processing of orders takes two days.

   Patterns

   • the processing of something
   • processing time
   • processing fee

   Processing of your application will take about two weeks.

   Food processing plants must follow strict hygiene rules.

   There is a small processing fee for each payment.

2. 2noununcountablecomputing

   The work a computer or brain does when it takes in and works with information.

   Grammar: Often before another noun: data processing, image processing.

   Patterns

   • data processing
   • processing power
   • image processing

   The laptop lacks the processing power to edit video.

   Language processing in the brain happens very quickly.

   Image processing removed the noise from the photograph.

3. 3verbtransitive

   Present participle of process: dealing with something using a set series of steps.

   Grammar: Needs an object when used as a verb: the clerk is processing the forms.

   Patterns

   • be processing something

   The bank is processing my loan request now.

   She is processing the photos from the trip.

   The plant is processing tons of grain a day.

Common combinations

data processing

Data processing is done overnight on large servers.

word processing

She learned word processing at evening class.

processing time

The processing time for visas is six weeks.

food processing

He works in the food processing industry.

payment processing

Payment processing failed during checkout.

processing power

Games need a lot of processing power.

Synonyms and how they differ

handling

Handling is a general word for dealing with something, while processing implies a fixed sequence of steps.

treatment

Treatment is used for changing a substance with chemicals or heat, and is less common for paperwork.

computing

Computing is the wider field, but processing is the specific work done on data.

refining

Refining means purifying a raw material, which is only one kind of processing.

Word family

process noun

a series of steps leading to a result

process verb

to deal with using a standard procedure

processor noun

a machine or program that processes things

processed adjective

prepared or changed by industrial methods

Commonly confused: processing or procession?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “processing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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