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program

/ˌproʊˈgræm/

/ˈprəʊgræm/

Other forms: programs; programmes; programing

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.

Definitions of program
  1. noun
    a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished
    synonyms: plan, programme
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    audit program, audit programme
    a listing of audit procedures to be performed in completing an audit
    outline, schema, scheme
    a schematic or preliminary plan
    master plan
    a long-term outline of a project or government function
    blueprint, design, pattern
    something intended as a guide for making something else
    plan of action
    a plan for actively doing something
    regime, regimen
    (medicine) a systematic plan for therapy (often including diet)
    project, projection
    a planned undertaking
    agenda, docket, schedule
    a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to
    pension account, pension plan, retirement account, retirement plan, retirement program, retirement savings account, retirement savings plan
    a plan for setting aside money to be spent after retirement
    employee savings plan
    a plan that allows employees to contribute to an investment pool managed the employer
    guideline, road map
    a detailed plan or explanation to guide you in setting standards or determining a course of action
    stock purchase plan
    an organized plan for employees of a company to buy shares of its stock
    budget
    a summary of intended expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them
    play
    a preset plan of action in team sports
    policy
    a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group
    battle plan
    plan for conducting a battle
    system
    a procedure or process for obtaining an objective
    maneuver, manoeuvre, tactic, tactics
    a plan for attaining a particular goal
    scheme, strategy
    an elaborate and systematic plan of action
    itinerary, travel plan
    a proposed route of travel
    cash cow, money-spinner, moneymaker
    a project that generates a continuous flow of money
    fare, menu
    an agenda of things to do
    401-k, 401-k plan
    a retirement savings plan that is funded by employee contributions and (often) matching contributions from the employer; contributions are made from your salary before taxes and the funds grow tax-free until they are withdrawn, at which point they can be converted into an IRA; funds can be transferred if you change employers and you can (to some extent) manage the investments yourself
    IRA, individual retirement account
    a retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement; taxes on the interest earned in the account are deferred
    Keogh plan
    a tax-deferred pension plan for employees of unincorporated businesses or for self-employed persons
    ESOP, employee stock ownership plan
    a program under which employees regularly accumulate shares and may ultimately assume control of the company
    balanced budget
    a budget is balanced when current expenditures are equal to receipts
    initiative
    a new strategy or plan to solve a problem or improve a situation
    type of:
    idea, thought
    the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
  2. noun
    an integrated course of academic studies
    “he was admitted to a new program at the university”
    synonyms: course of study, curriculum, programme, syllabus
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    crash course, crash program, crash programme
    a rapid and intense course of training or research (usually undertaken in an emergency)
    reading program
    a program designed to teach literacy skills
    degree program
    a course of study leading to an academic degree
    type of:
    info, information
    a message received and understood
  3. noun
    a system of projects or services intended to meet a public need
    “he proposed an elaborate program of public works”
    “working mothers rely on the day care program
    synonyms: programme
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    defence policy, defence program, defense policy, defense program
    a program for defending a country against its enemies
    educational program
    a program for providing education
    rehabilitation program
    a program for restoring someone to good health
    space program
    a technological program intended to explore outer space
    Superfund, Superfund program
    the federal government's program to locate and investigate and clean up the worst uncontrolled and abandoned toxic waste sites nationwide; administered by the Environmental Protection Agency
    tax policy, tax program
    a program for setting taxes
    works program
    a program to provide jobs on public works paid for by government funds
    entitlement
    a government program that provides benefits to an eligible group
    vocational rehabilitation program
    a program of rehabilitation through job training with an eye to gainful employment
    academic program
    (education) a program of education in liberal arts and sciences (usually in preparation for higher education)
    training program
    a program designed for training in specific skills
    vocational program
    a program of vocational education
    type of:
    system, system of rules
    a complex of methods or rules governing behavior
  4. noun
    (computer science) a sequence of instructions that a computer can interpret and execute
    “the program required several hundred lines of code”
    synonyms: computer program, computer programme, programme
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    anti-virus program
    a computer program that checks a computer for viruses and prevents their spread
    application, application program, applications programme
    a program that gives a computer instructions that provide the user with tools to accomplish a task
    binary, binary program
    a pre-compiled, pre-linked program that is ready to run under a given operating system; a binary for one operating system will not run on a different operating system
    loop
    a computer program that performs a series of instructions repeatedly until some specified condition is satisfied
    malevolent program, malware
    a computer program designed to have undesirable or harmful effects
    patch
    a short set of commands to correct a bug in a computer program
    assembler, assembly program
    a program to convert assembly language into machine language
    checking program
    a program that examines other computer programs for syntax errors
    compiler, compiling program
    (computer science) a program that decodes instructions written in a higher order language and produces an assembly language program
    debugger
    a program that helps in locating and correcting programming errors
    interface, user interface
    (computer science) a program that controls a display for the user (usually on a computer monitor) and that allows the user to interact with the system
    interpreter, interpretive program
    (computer science) a program that translates and executes source language statements one line at a time
    job control
    a program that is called to prepare each job to be run
    library program
    a program in a program library
    monitor program, monitoring program
    a program that observes and regulates and controls or verifies the operations of a data-processing system
    object program, target program
    a fully compiled or assembled program ready to be loaded into the computer
    source program
    a program written in a language from which statements are translated into machine language
    parser
    a computer program that divides code up into functional components
    tagger, tagging program
    a computer program that attaches labels to the grammatical constituents of textual matter
    relocatable program
    a program that can be located in different parts of memory at different times
    reusable program
    a program that can be loaded once and executed repeatedly
    Web Map Server, Web Map Service
    a computer program that produces maps of spatially referenced data dynamically from geographic information
    search engine
    a computer program that retrieves documents or files or data from a database or from a computer network (especially from the internet)
    self-adapting program
    a program that can change its performance in response to its environment
    spider, wanderer
    a computer program that prowls the internet looking for publicly accessible resources that can be added to a database; the database can then be searched with a search engine
    spreadsheet
    a screen-oriented interactive program enabling a user to lay out financial data on the screen
    stored program
    a program that is stored in the memory of the computer that executes it
    executive program, supervisor, supervisory program
    a program that controls the execution of other programs
    syntax checker
    a program to check natural language syntax
    system program, systems program, systems software
    a program (as an operating system or compiler or utility program) that controls some aspect of the operation of a computer
    text-matching
    a computer program that looks for text that matches a given text
    translating program, translator
    a program that translates one programming language into another
    service program, utility, utility program
    (computer science) a program designed for general support of the processes of a computer
    LISP program
    a program written in LISP
    FORTRAN program
    a program written in FORTRAN
    C program
    a program written in C
    active application
    an application that is currently running and in the foreground
    applet
    a Java application; an application program that uses the client's web browser to provide a user interface
    frame
    an application that divides the user's display into two or more windows that can be scrolled independently
    browser, web browser
    a program used to view HTML documents
    natural language processing application, natural language processor
    an application program that deals with natural language text
    job
    (computer science) a program application that may consist of several steps but is a single logical unit
    word processing system, word processor
    an application that provides the user with tools needed to write and edit and format text and to send it to a printer
    C compiler
    a compiler for programs written in C
    Fortran compiler
    a compiler for programs written in FORTRAN
    LISP compiler
    a compiler for programs written in LISP
    Pascal compiler
    a compiler for programs written in Pascal
    device driver, driver
    (computer science) a program that determines how a computer will communicate with a peripheral device
    diagnostic program
    a program that recognizes and explains faults in the equipment or mistakes in a computer program
    editor, editor program
    (computer science) a program designed to perform such editorial functions as rearrangement or modification or deletion of data
    input program
    a utility program that organizes the input to a computer
    CLI, command line interface
    a user interface in which you type commands instead of choosing them from a menu or selecting an icon
    GUI, graphical user interface
    a user interface based on graphics (icons and pictures and menus) instead of text; uses a mouse as well as a keyboard as an input device
    output program
    a utility program that organizes the output of a computer
    sense tagger
    a tagging program whose labels indicate the meanings of words or expressions
    part-of-speech tagger, pos tagger
    a tagging program whose labels indicate a word's part of speech
    sort program, sorting program
    a utility program that sorts data items
    trace program
    a utility program that exhibits the sequence and results of executing the instructions in another program
    logic bomb, slag code
    a set of instructions inserted into a program that are designed to execute (or `explode') if a particular condition is satisfied; when exploded it may delete or corrupt data, or print a spurious message, or have other harmful effects
    trojan, trojan horse
    a program that appears desirable but actually contains something harmful
    computer virus, virus
    a software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer
    worm
    a software program capable of reproducing itself that can spread from one computer to the next over a network
    type of:
    computer software, package, software, software package, software program, software system
    (computer science) written programs or procedures or rules and associated documentation pertaining to the operation of a computer system and that are stored in read/write memory
  5. verb
    arrange a program of or for
    program the 80th birthday party”
    synonyms: programme
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    type of:
    schedule
    make a schedule; plan the time and place for events
  6. verb
    write a computer program
    synonyms: programme
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    hack, hack on
    fix a computer program piecemeal until it works
    type of:
    create by mental act, create mentally
    create mentally and abstractly rather than with one's hands
  7. noun
    a radio or television show
    “did you see his program last night?”
    synonyms: broadcast, programme
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    news, news program, news show
    a program devoted to current events, often using interviews and commentary
    rerun
    a program that is broadcast again
    chat show, talk show
    a program during which well-known people discuss a topic or answer questions telephoned in by the audience
    TV program, TV show, television program, television show
    a program broadcast by television
    game show, giveaway
    a television or radio program in which contestants compete for awards
    serial, series
    a serialized set of programs
    episode, installment, instalment
    a part of a broadcast serial
    sustaining program
    a program without a commercial sponsor
    phone-in
    a program in which the audience participates by telephone
    colorcast, colourcast
    a television program that is broadcast in color
    pilot, pilot film, pilot program
    a program exemplifying a contemplated series; intended to attract sponsors
    quiz program
    a game show in which contestants answer questions
    cliffhanger
    an episode that ends in suspense
    soap opera
    a serialized program usually dealing with sentimentalized family matters that is broadcast on radio or television (frequently sponsored by a company advertising soap products)
    tetralogy
    a series of four related works (plays or operas or novels)
    television news
    a television broadcast of news
    sitcom, situation comedy
    a humorous television program based on situations that could arise in everyday life
    special
    a television production that features a particular person or work or topic
    type of:
    show
    a social event involving a public performance or entertainment
  8. noun
    a performance (or series of performances) at a public presentation
    “the program lasted more than two hours”
    synonyms: programme
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    bill
    the entertainment offered at a public presentation
    type of:
    performance
    the act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment
  9. noun
    an announcement of the events that will occur as part of a theatrical or sporting event
    “you can't tell the players without a program
    synonyms: programme
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    playbill
    a theatrical program
    racecard
    a program for a race meeting; lists the races and the names of the horses
    type of:
    announcement, promulgation
    a public statement containing information about an event that has happened or is going to happen
  10. noun
    a document stating the aims and principles of a political party
    “they won the election even though they offered no positive program
    synonyms: platform, political platform, political program
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    type of:
    document, papers, written document
    writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
Pronunciation
US

/ˌproʊˈgræm/

UK

/ˈprəʊgræm/

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