program
Americannoun
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a plan of action to accomplish a specified end.
a school lunch program.
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a plan or schedule of activities, procedures, etc., to be followed.
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a broadcasted television or radio production or similar internet-based content produced for distribution.
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Also called computer program. Digital Technology. a precise sequence of instructions enabling a computer to perform a task; a piece of software.
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a collection of principles, actions, objectives, etc., established with a long-term goal in mind; platform; policy.
A review of our education initiatives and programs suggests we are meeting our goals.
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a list of items, pieces, performers, etc., in a musical, theatrical, or other entertainment.
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an entertainment with reference to its pieces or numbers.
a program of American and French music.
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a planned, coordinated group of activities, procedures, etc., often for a specific purpose, or a facility offering such a series of activities.
a drug rehabilitation program;
a graduate program in linguistics.
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a prospectus or syllabus.
a program of courses being offered.
verb (used with object)
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to schedule as part of a program.
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Digital Technology. to write code for (a computer program or application).
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to insert or encode specific operating instructions into (a machine or apparatus).
We'll program the bells to ring at ten-minute intervals.
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to insert (instructions) into a machine or apparatus.
An automatic release has been programmed into the lock as a safety feature.
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to cause to absorb or incorporate automatic responses, attitudes, or the like; condition.
Our parents programmed us to respect our elders.
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to set, regulate, or modify so as to produce a specific response or reaction.
Program your eating habits to eliminate sweets.
verb (used without object)
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to plan or write a program.
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Digital Technology. to write computer code.
noun
verb
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(tr) to feed a program into (a computer)
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(tr) to arrange (data) into a suitable form so that it can be processed by a computer
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(intr) to write a program
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A organized system of instructions and data interpreted by a computer. Programming instructions are often referred to as code.
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See more at source code See also programming language
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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programsimple
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programssimple
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have programedperfect
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have programmedperfect
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has programedperfect
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has programmedperfect
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am programingprogressive
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am programmingprogressive
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are programingprogressive
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are programmingprogressive
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is programingprogressive
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is programmingprogressive
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have been programingperfect progressive
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have been programmingperfect progressive
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has been programingperfect progressive
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has been programmingperfect progressive
Past
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programedsimple
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programmedsimple
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had programedperfect
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had programmedperfect
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was programingprogressive
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was programmingprogressive
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were programingprogressive
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were programmingprogressive
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had been programingperfect progressive
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had been programmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of program
First recorded in 1625–35; from Late Latin programma, from Greek prógramma “public notice in writing”; see pro- 2, -gram 1
Explanation
A program is a sequence or plan. At your niece's dance recital you may be dismayed to discover that her piece is 19th on the program. Settle in! Program comes from the Greek for "public notice." When you go to the theater, you'll be handed a program with the names of the play and the performers. We call television or radio shows programs, especially if they’re on regularly. If you're trying to get in shape, you'll need an exercise program. To program is to plan or organize something, or to write the code and execute the commands that make computers work.
Vocabulary lists containing program
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The program is specific to the city of Santa Monica and will only be enforced within city limits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The move could complicate a 30-year accord to give the kingdom a civilian nuclear program.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Riyadh, like Tehran, has long been adamant about its right to pursue a civilian nuclear program.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The company repurchased $2.2 billion in stock during the second quarter and allocated $1.1 billion to dividend payments, having poured $54.6 billion into capital returns since launching its program in 2022.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Back home, my local playground had a rock-climbing wall that I loved, and I’d been the best climber in my after-school program at Brooklyn Boulders.
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
Social-insurance programs guarantee lifelong income for all Americans, particularly low-wage workers; provide protection for disabled workers and their surviving family; and spread potentially catastrophic healthcare risk across the population.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Missiles and fire-control sales climbed 19.5% to $4.1 billion, to beat expectations of $4.03 billion, with higher sales of air- and missile-defense programs cited.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Both programs will employ forward deployed engineers, or FDEs, that work on-site with clients to plan and build AI applications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Education Department hasn’t yet calculated the final data against which institutions will be judged, leaving uncertainty on exactly what programs will face consequences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
But the TV stayed on, leaving me no choice but to watch a string of commercials for car waxes, weight-reducing programs, exercise machines and “Red-Hot Harmonica Classics.”
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
Spain's biggest lender accidentally made a second payment Saturday to about 75,000 people and firms due for one-off or programed payments from 2,000 businesses with accounts at its U.K. unit.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 2021
He explains how he would make dishes, and the robot would be programed to copy his movement.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2021
You can control the amount of pressure by controlling how inflated the airbags are, and it can even be programed to inflate and deflate continuously.
From Slate ● May 6, 2020
Leidecker used iPads programed to listen and acoustically act.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2018
I vaguely remember a TV story from the 50s that showed a room size computer at DuPont that was programed to generate millions of syllables for prefixes and syllables for suffixes.
From New York Times ● Jan. 15, 2015
In effect, it allows heat to be programmed in a way that resembles how data is stored and controlled inside a computer chip.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
The data only needs to be aggregated; red-flag algorithms need to be programmed in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Each is programmed to identify specific materials as they make their way through the conveyor lines.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
"But the robots are friendly, they're polite and they're programmed to be careful. They've slotted into everyday life in loads of communities since we started out in the UK back in 2018."
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
The label seems to have unpleasant connotations, such as that human creativity counts for nothing, or that we humans are passive robots helplessly programmed by climate, fauna, and flora.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
More Spheres would be bullish for the company because of royalty and other income, as well as the ability to distribute original programing in multiple locations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025
Non-routine cognitive jobs include public relations and computer programing.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2024
Indeed, Kunst’s submission to the 2018 CRC points to this TV programing note in the Miami News for channel 10’s Florida Journal on Oct.
From Slate ● Jan. 18, 2024
“White gay men are the one segment that are most likely represented on our screens, whether it’s programing or ads,” said Lisette Arsuaga, co-founder of the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing.
From New York Times ● May 25, 2023
The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 amended section 111 by substituting "statutory" for "compulsory" and "programming" for "programing," wherever they appeared.
From Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, Circular 92 by United States
He even launched his own subscription streaming network, the American Sheriff Network, with featured ride-alongs and other reality TV programming.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Our foreign assistance programming is aligned to support our strategic priorities.”
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
He noted that Netflix may spend 5% of its content budget on live events in 2026, even as it expects that programming to command only a 1% share of viewing hours.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
It means training dollars go to docket management and evidence law, not to programming on contested social or political questions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
But the creative challenge is much higher up the food chain—in computing labs, medical research, artificial intelligence, advanced programming for institutions like NASA, and Web design and development—all requiring higher education.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.