variants
or Cobol
: a computer programming language designed for business applications
Examples of COBOL in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Natural language is simply another layer of abstraction, like all programming languages that came before it, such as Visual Basic, Python and COBOL.
—
Larry English, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
As recently as 2016, SSA’s infrastructure contained more than 60 million lines of code written in COBOL, with millions more written in other legacy coding languages, the agency’s Office of the Inspector General found.
—Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 28 Mar. 2025
Many legacy systems in financial institutions rely on COBOL, Java or C++, and Rust’s FFI (foreign function interface) support enables gradual migration without requiring a complete overhaul.
—Amandeep Midha, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
The confusion has arisen from the SSA's software system, which relies on the COBOL programming language and lacks a specific date type.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
The news organization Wired first reported on the use of COBOL programming language at the Social Security Administration.
—Jeremy Tanner, The Hill, 6 Mar. 2025
This means maintaining talent that understands legacy COBOL and modern cloud architectures.
—Ismail Amla, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
This early achievement would one day lead to the development of COBOL for data processors, which is still the major programming language used today.
—Ars Technica, 29 Aug. 2024
Much of the New York City subway depends on mechanical switching systems installed in the nineteen-thirties; many banks rely on software written in COBOL, a basically obsolete programming language.
—Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2024
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Larry English, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
As recently as 2016, SSA’s infrastructure contained more than 60 million lines of code written in COBOL, with millions more written in other legacy coding languages, the agency’s Office of the Inspector General found.
—Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 28 Mar. 2025
Many legacy systems in financial institutions rely on COBOL, Java or C++, and Rust’s FFI (foreign function interface) support enables gradual migration without requiring a complete overhaul.
—Amandeep Midha, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
The confusion has arisen from the SSA's software system, which relies on the COBOL programming language and lacks a specific date type.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
The news organization Wired first reported on the use of COBOL programming language at the Social Security Administration.
—Jeremy Tanner, The Hill, 6 Mar. 2025
This means maintaining talent that understands legacy COBOL and modern cloud architectures.
—Ismail Amla, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
This early achievement would one day lead to the development of COBOL for data processors, which is still the major programming language used today.
—Ars Technica, 29 Aug. 2024
Much of the New York City subway depends on mechanical switching systems installed in the nineteen-thirties; many banks rely on software written in COBOL, a basically obsolete programming language.
—Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“COBOL.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/COBOL. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
COBOL
noun
CO·BOL
variants
or Cobol
: a computer programming language used especially in business
Etymology
common business oriented language
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