program

To program is to input data into a machine to cause it to do a certain thing, or to train a person or animal to behave or react a certain way.

(verb)

  1. An example of program is when you use javascript or another coding language to get a computer to work in a certain manner and display certain images.
  2. An example of progam is when you train your dog to sit on command.

The definition of a program is a planned series of events, a performance or a booklet telling you what events to expect as part of a series of events.

(noun)

  1. An example of a program is a theatre night where you see three plays in a row.
  2. An example of a program is scheduled activities at a daycare center.
  3. An example of a program is a radio broadcast or a TV comedy.
  4. An example of a program is a little book you get when you to to the theatre that tells you about the play you are going to see, the order of acts and the actors performing.

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See program in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

  1. Obsolete
    1. a proclamation
    2. a prospectus or syllabus
    1. the acts, speeches, musical pieces, etc. that make up an entertainment, ceremony, etc.
    2. a printed list of these
  2. a scheduled broadcast on radio or television
  3. a plan or procedure for dealing with some matter
  4. all the activities that can be participated in at a community center, camp, resort, etc.
  5. a logical sequence of coded instructions specifying the operations to be performed by a computer in solving a problem or in processing data
  6. a series of operations which may be used to control the functions of an electronic device

Origin: < LL & Fr: Fr programme < LL programma < Gr, edict < prographein, to write in public < pro-, before + graphein, to write: see pro- & graphic

transitive verb programmed or programed, programming or programing

  1. to enter or schedule in a program
  2. ☆ to prepare the questions and answers for (a textbook or a teaching machine to be used in programmed instruction)
    1. to plan a computer program for (a task, problem, etc.)
    2. to furnish (a computer, chip, etc.) with a program
    3. to incorporate in a computer program
  3. to set the program of (an electronic device)
  4. to predispose to behave in a certain way, have a certain mindset. etc.; condition: to program a child for failure

intransitive verb

to plan or prepare a program or programs

Related Forms:

See program in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. a. A listing of the order of events and other pertinent information for a public presentation.
    b. The presentation itself: a program of piano pieces.
  2. A scheduled radio or television show.
  3. An ordered list of events to take place or procedures to be followed; a schedule: a program of physical therapy for a convalescent.
  4. A system of services, opportunities, or projects, usually designed to meet a social need: “Working parents rely on the center's after-school latchkey program” (New York Times).
  5. a. A course of academic study; a curriculum.
    b. A plan or system of academic and related or ancillary activities: a work-study program.
    c. A plan or system of nonacademic extracurricular activities: the football program.
  6. A set of coded instructions that enables a machine, especially a computer, to perform a desired sequence of operations.
  7. An instruction sequence in programmed instruction.
transitive verb pro·grammed or pro·gramed, pro·gram·ming or pro·gram·ing, pro·grams
  1. To include or schedule in a program: program a new musical composition.
  2. To design a program for; schedule the activities of.
  3. To provide (a machine) with a set of coded working instructions.
  4. To train to perform automatically in a desired way, as if programming a machine: programmed the children to use perfect table manners.
  5. To prepare an instructional sequence for (material to be taught) in programmed instruction.

Origin:

Origin: Late Latin programma, public notice

Origin: , from Greek programma, programmat-

Origin: , from prographein, to write publicly

Origin: : pro-, forth; see pro-2

Origin: + graphein, to write; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots

.

Related Forms:

  • pro·gramˌma·bilˈi·ty noun
  • proˈgramˌma·ble adjective

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