software

noun

soft·​ware ˈsȯft-ˌwer 

: something used or associated with and usually contrasted with hardware: such as

a

: programs for a computer

accounting software

b

dated : the entire set of programs, procedures, and related documentation associated with a mechanical or electronic system and especially a computer system

c

: materials for use with audiovisual equipment

… television programs, music, and movies are now called software, by the way …

—Robert Bixby

Examples of software in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This article was generated by the Kansas City Star Bot, artificial intelligence software that analyzes structured information from TomTom and applies it to templates created by journalists in the newsroom. —Kansas City Star Bot, Kansas City Star, 7 Apr. 2025

This article was generated by the Bay Area Home Report Bot, software that analyzes home sales or other data and creates an article based on a template created by humans. —Bay Area Home Report, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2025

Morales, who used voice ID software to discover that the unseen woman was/is … Colonel Lazarus! —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 7 Apr. 2025

The Beginning of Class Central Shah was an international student from India who studied software engineering during his university years. —Craig Lebrau, USA Today, 6 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for software

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare
• compare

Kids Definition

software

noun

soft·​ware ˈsȯf-ˌtwa(ə)r 

-ˌtwe(ə)r

: the programs and related information used by a computer