Words / B2

k-uh-m-PYOOT/kəmˈpjuːt/

To compute is to calculate an amount or result, especially with a machine or a formal method: compute the mean; computing time. Calculate is the everyday twin (already in the dictionary); computer is the machine (already elsewhere). Compute the mean from the table, then show the working. Mix-up: commute (already in the dictionary); dispute. Do not write compute for a rough guess with no method.

Meaning

To calculate an amount or result, especially with a machine or a formal method.

Examples

• “Compute the mean from the table, then show the working.”
• “Compute time on the cluster featured in the methods line, which is the machine sense.”

Good to know

compute + quantity; computing. Everyday: calculate. Machine: computer. Trap: commute. Maths, ICT, and science. Calculate with a method, not a hunch.

Near in meaning

calculate

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